Zainab Salbi (Arabic: زينب سلبي; born 1969) is an Iraqi American women's rights activist, writer, television show host, and podcaster.

In her 2005 memoir Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam, Salbi recounted her early life: Born in Baghdad to a father who later became Saddam Hussein's personal pilot, her family arranged her marriage and emigration to the United States, in order to remove her from the proximity of Hussein, who had started showing unwanted attention to her.

[8] When Salbi was 11, her father became the personal pilot for Saddam Hussein, who then regularly visited the family at their home while he was president of Iraq.

[17] Salbi began serving as president, initially with a focus on supporting women in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia[13][10] expanding to Iraq in 2003.

[19] Salbi led the organization until her resignation in 2011,[5] during which time its humanitarian and development efforts helped 315,000 women and distributed over $108 million in direct aid and micro-credit loans.

[13] The show was broadcast in 22 countries[11] in the Middle East and North Africa and focused on Arab and Muslim women.

The five part series explored how positive change could occur after the aftermath of the MeToo movement, examining issues of gender, race, and social class.

[29] As the host, Salbi interviewed political commentator Angela Rye, writer Ijeoma Oluo, activist Nadine Strossen, and a former Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's blog editor who was accused of sexual assault.

[34][12][35] Salbi is the author of the 2006 nonfiction book The Other Side of War, which documents the stories of women who have lived through conflict and inequality and succeeded in community leadership and business.

In 1995, President Bill Clinton honored Salbi at the White House for her humanitarian work and identified her as a "21st Century Heroine".

[43] Salbi was identified as an influential Arab woman by Arabian Business,[44] and one of the 100 Global Thinkers in the World by Foreign Policy.

[53] She received the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Award in 2019[54] for her writing and television work to advance awareness of issues affecting women.