In honor of the Iranian New Year, Mic celebrates Mahnaz Afkhami and other Persian women who have fought for equality.
Tag: Iran

The Cyrus Cylinder Exhibit: A VOA Documentary
The VOA documentary on the occasion of the exhibition of The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer/Sackler Gallery of Art features Mahnaz Afkhami, along with other scholars, who weigh in on the importance of this exhibition, especially during the existing tension between Iran and the U.S. Afkhami notes that the…
At the UN, Twenty Years of Backlash to ‘Women’s Rights Are Human Rights’
Since the seminal Cairo Conference in 1994, anti-feminist actors have pushed back against progress made in women’s rights on the global stage. In The Nation, Mahnaz Afkhami provides insights into the rise of fundamentalist, conservative, and populist movements that are fueling this backlash, and illuminates the role of American wars in the Middle East in…
Iran Before Islam: Challenging Stereotypes Through Art
Mahnaz Afkhami was invited to a panel of Iranian-American leaders to discuss a gallery of pre-Islamic ancient-Iranian objects at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries.
Fighting for Women's Rights: An Interview with Mahnaz Afkhami
In an interview with Dutch human rights NGO, Arseh Sevom (Third Sphere), Mahnaz Afkhami discusses her work in pre-revolution Iran, women fighting for change in the2009 Iranian Green Movement, and her fight for gender equality in exile.
Women Could Promote Rights Through Islam
US News & World Report interviewed Mahnaz Afkhami and Melanne Verveer on Muslim values and women’s rights. While some places in northern Africa have seen gains in women’s rights, Afkhami cautions that progress can be revoked under conservative leadership.
Mahnaz Afkhami Testifies at U.S. Senate Hearing "Women and the Arab Spring"
Mahnaz Afkhami testified at a US Senate Hearing on November 2, 2011, on the subject of women and the Arab Spring. “It is therefore of utmost importance for women’s equality in these countries undergoing radical transformation that the United States give its explicit support for women’s full and equal participation in national reform processes,” Afkhami…

Women In Iran: From the Pahlavi era to the Islamic Republic
This article, penned by Mahnaz Afkhami, addresses the activities of Women’s Organization of Iran before the 1979 Revolution. Afkhami, who was the Secretary General of this non-profit organization, elaborates on its activities in early 1970s. The main focus of those activities – undertaken by women volunteers in 400 branches of this organization nationwide – was…