Events

Events

Mahnaz Afkhami is frequently engaged as a speaker on a range of topics, including human rights, participatory leadership, women and peace, women’s political participation, the global women’s movements, and the fight for women’s rights in Iran.

Foreign Policy Association Book Talk: Mahnaz Afkhami and The Other Side of Silence

Date: April 6 2023 Time: 6:00PM EST Location:  Foreign Policy Association PricewaterhouseCoopers 300 Madison Avenue New York, NY Description: The FPA is delighted to be joined by Ms. Mahnaz Afkahmi, Founder and President of the Women’s Learning Partnership and Executive Director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies. Her new book “The Other Side of Silence: A Memoir of Exile, Iran and the Global Woman’s Movement” tells the story of Ms. Afkahmi’s time growing up in Pre-Revolution Iran, her time as the first Minister for Women’s Affairs in Iran, and her exile from her home. The event will begin at 6:00pm and run until 8:00pm. There will be a reception after the lecture. You can register for this event on Eventbrite or by contacting mbarbari@fpa.org. Copies of Ms.Afkahmi’s book will be available after the lecture.  Click here to view the event page


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PAAIA Hosts Nowruz Reception on Capitol Hill in Honor of the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement

Date: March 28 2023 Time: 6:00PM EST Location: Rayburn House Office Building 45 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20515 Description: On March 28th, 2023, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) hosted its annual Nowruz reception on Capitol Hill with over 90 members of Congress, congressional staffers, and special guests in attendance.  Among them were Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (CA-12), and Representatives Stephanie Bice (OK-5), Scott Franklin (FL-18), Virginia Foxx (NC-5), Jim Himes (CT-4), Shelia Jackson Lee (TX-18), Adam Schiff (CA-30), and Rob Wittman (VA-1).  Attendees had the opportunity to learn about Nowruz (the Persian New Year) while enjoying Persian cuisine and a traditional Haftseen table designed by Mitra Ghahramani. Celebrating Nowruz on Capitol Hill each year is part of PAAIA’s broader efforts to foster a greater understanding of Iranian culture and heritage as well as to project an accurate and positive image of the Iranian American community.   Click …


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Raise High for Social Justice – GW Supporting the Women of Iran

Date: March 22 2023 Time: 5:00PM EST Location:  George Washington University Jack Morton Auditorium 805 21st Street Northwest  Washington, DC 20052 Description: Join the GW Iranian Student Association, the Clara Bliss Hinds Women in Medicine and Science Society, & the Global Women’s Institute for “Raise High for Social Justice- GW Supporting the Women of Iran.” This event is being organized to make the greater D.C. community aware of the events transpiring in Iran, support those within the GW community who are impacted by these events, and serve as a stance against human rights violations and as a call to action for those who wish to do so. The event will feature remarks from GW President Mark Wrighton, Roya Hakakian, Mahnaz Afkhami, and Ambassador Melanne Verveer. Doors will open at 4:30 PM ET, attendees are welcome to view art installations before and after the event. The program will be followed by …


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Women’s Learning Partnership at CSW67 – Rights and Resistance: Strengthening Movement for Freedom and Equality in Iran and Afghanistan

Date: March 10 2023 Time: 4:30PM EST Location:  United Nations Church Center 2nd Floor New York NY 10017 Description: The calls for women’s human rights in Iran and Afghanistan require coordinated action by the international community. WLP will bring together Iranian and Afghan women leaders to share ways to assist movements for women’s rights inside and outside the countries. Panelists will discuss how the international community can amplify messages from within the communities, contribute to the resilience and power of women’s movements in Afghanistan and Iran, and use technology to build the capacity of women leaders in closed societies. The event will conclude with a reading of Persian poetry, as a part of WLP’s Lifelines: The Poetry of Human Rights series. Moderator: Nadereh Chamlou | Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, Former Senior Advisor at the World Bank Panelists: Mahnaz Afkhami | Former Minister for Women’s Affairs in Iran, …


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Wilson Center’s Haleh Esfandiari Forum: Leading for Change: Women in Iran and the Journey to Freedom

Date: February 16 2023 Time: 10:00AM EST Location: Online Description: The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program hosted leading women’s rights advocate and former Minister for Women’s Affairs of Iran Mahnaz Afkhami at the 2023 Haleh Esfandiari Forum. Afkhami launched her journey in activism more than four decades ago. Prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, she played a key role in the passage of the progressive 1975 Family Protection Law as Iran’s Minister of Women’s Affairs, founded the Association of Iranian University Women, and served as Secretary General of the Women’s Organization of Iran. She is the founder and president of Women’s Learning Partnership, a partnership of 20 women’s rights organizations based in the Global South working in 28 languages in 60 countries to promote women’s leadership and human rights. In conversation with MEP Director Merissa Khurma, Afkhami addressed the history and background of the women’s movement in Iran, as detailed …


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Iran and the Women’s Movement with Mahnaz Afkhami and Samira Mohyeddin

Date: January 22 2023 Time: 2:00PM EST Location: Online Description: @BanyenBooksSoundVancouver hosts Mahnaz Afkhami, leading women’s rights advocate who served in the pre-1978 Cabinet of Iran, in conversation with CBC radio host Samira Mohyeddin in conversation on exile, protests, Iran, and the women’s movement. In The Other Side of Silence, Mahnaz Afkhami shares her unexpected and meteoric rise from unassuming English professor to a champion of women’s rights in Iran; the clash between Western feminists and those from the Global South; and the challenges of international women’s rights work. Afkhami’s remarkable story illuminates the possibility of bringing opportunity and choice to women in Iran and across the world. Mahnaz Afkhami is the founder, president, and CEO of Women’s Learning Partnership and former Minister for Women’s Affairs in Iran (1976-1978) . Afkhami has been a leading advocate of women’s rights for more than four decades, having founded and served as director …


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Conversation on the Women-Led Uprising in Iran with Mahnaz Afkhami & Goli Ameri

Date: December 6 2022 Time: 5:00 PM EST Location: Online Description: On December 6th, 2022, PAAIA hosted an enlightening conversation on the women-led uprising in Iran featuring Mahnaz Afkhami, Founder and President of Women’s Learning Partnership & former Minister of Women’s Affairs in Iran, and Goli Ameri, Co-Founder and CEO of Startitup & former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Our esteemed guests discussed the historical context of women’s movements in Iran, through Mahnaz’s powerful new memoir, The Other Side of Silence, connecting the dots to today’s unprecedented women-led (and male supported) revolutionary movement and what it means for the future of Iran and the global movement for women’s rights and human rights. Click here to view event recording.


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Breakfast with Iranian Women Leaders at Georgetown University

Date: December 5 2022 Time: 9:00AM EST Location:  Georgetown University President’s Room, 3rd Floor of Healy Hall Georgetown University  3700 O Street NW Washington, DC 20057 Description: This conversation will explore Iranian women’s leading role in the ongoing, nation-wide protests. We will discuss how today’s resistance builds on a long history of advocacy by Iranian women, as well as how the scale and possible outcome of today’s movement is different. We will ask what the geo-political stakes are, how the United States should engage, and how individuals and philanthropists can be supportive. This breakfast is part of an Annual Summit for a small and influential group of Georgetown alumni who are passionate about issues of gender equality: the Georgetown Ambassadors for Women, Peace and Security. The event will begin with a brief panel discussion and will be followed by audience Q&A. Participants: Bahar Ghandehari, Founder of youth-led organization Middle East …


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A conversation with former Minister for Women’s Affairs in Iran, Dr. Mahnaz Afkhami on her new memoir: “The Other Side of Silence: a Memoir of Exile, Iran and the Global Women’s Movement”

Date: November 17 2022 Time: 5:00PM EST and 7:00PM EST Location:  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Nelson Mandela Auditorium FedEx Global Center  301 Pittsoboro St. Chapel Hill, NC Description: Join Dr. Claudia Yaghoobi, director of the UNC Center for Middle East & Islamic Studies, for a conversation with Dr. Afkhami about the book, her life experiences, and more than 4 decades as an advocate for women’s rights.  Dr. Mahnaz Afkhami is an Iranian women’s rights activist who served in the Cabinet of Iran from 1976-1978. She is founder and president of Women’s Learning Partnership, executive director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies and former Minister of Women’s Affairs in Iran’s pre-Revolution government. Her work with international non-governmental organizations have focused on advancing the status of women in Iran and later around the world. She has lectured and published extensively on the international women’s movement, women’s human rights, …


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Eleanor Roosevelt Dialogue Series

Date: November 14 2022 Time: 10:00AM EST Location:  Center for Strategic and International Studies 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 Description: In a private event with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Mahnaz Afkhami discusses the current uprising in Iran and the history of women’s human rights in the country.


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