CODEPINK to Host Press Conference with Former American Hostage in Iran, Sarah Shourd

Contact:

Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Co-founder, medea.benjamin@gmail.com

Alli McCracken, CODEPINK National Director, alli@codepink.org

CODEPINK to Host Press Conference with Former American Hostage in Iran, Sarah Shourd

When:

Where:

Washington, DC--The peace group CODEPINK will host a press conference with Sarah Shourd, a journalist and playwright who was imprisoned for 410 days as a political hostage by the Iranian government. Shourd will speak about her experience in Iran and will also discuss the Iran deal, a peace of legislation that members of Congress are still voting to pass or reject. 

"I think it's a great deal. Not only does it weaken the hardliner position in Iran and ease tension between our two countries, it could lead to cooperation to combat ISIS. I also think that it is good for the Americans that are currently detained there. I think it actually gives the Iranian government less incentive to use hostage taking as a tactic," said Sarah Shourd to CODEPINK. 

Shourd is one of many prominent women--inlcuding authors and feminist scholars like Alice Walker and Gloria Steinem--who has signed onto CODEPINK's women's statement supporting the Iran nuclear deal. War disproportioantely affects women in negative ways. It ravages communities, leaving women to care for the wounded and rebuild society. 

Because war in the Middle East is the likely alternative if the deal is rejected, it's crucial to have women show support for the Iran deal. The women's statement, therefore, details the importance of peaceful diplomacy instead of violence. Women have historically been influential in ending seemingly intractable conflicts, and it is time again for women to speak out in favor of peace. 

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