In July, 2017, the Daily Beast covered the uptick in violence against prominent women’s rights activists in Iran.

“Mahnaz Afkhami, who served as minister of state for women’s affairs under the pre-revolutionary government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and now runs the Women’s Learning Project in Bethesda, Maryland, says that in recent months, the Iranian government has encouraged civil-rights and pro-democracy leaders to emigrate, as an alternative to lengthy imprisonments or executions that could further inflame a restive public.”