Early in my tenure as Secretary General at the Women’s Organization of Iran (WOI),[efn_note] The WOI was founded in 1966 by a 5,000-member assembly of Iranian women from diverse backgrounds and regions, gathered through consultation, brainstorming, and negotiation. Its mission was “to raise the cultural, social and economic knowledge of the women of Iran and…
Tag: Women’s Learning Partnership
Women’s Learning Partnership’s Project on Family Law Reform to Challenge Gender-Based Violence
An international network of 20 autonomous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) based primarily in transitioning and fragile states, Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) is dedicated to enhancing universal human rights and gender equality, strengthening civil society, and empowering women to be active citizens and actors of change in their societies. Our mission is…
Iran's New Crackdown on Women
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…
Highlights from the 60th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations
The 60th Session of the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW60) took place in March, 2016, at the United Nations in New York. Mahnaz Afkhami spoke on a panel of CSW60 attendees to share highlights from the UN session.
An Interview with Mahnaz Afkhami (In Persian)
Many women in Iran were not informed about their rights at the time of the 1979 Revolution, says Mahnaz Afkhami in an interview carried out by Tavaana. “In terms of women’s rights, Iran was one of the best among the developing countries – definitely much better than the rest of the region, and even comparable…
Beyond Equality: A Manual for Human Rights Defenders
[tm_pb_section admin_label=”section”][tm_pb_row admin_label=”row”][tm_pb_column type=”4_4″][tm_pb_accordion admin_label=”Accordion” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [tm_pb_accordion_item title=”Overview”] Beyond Equality: A Manual for Human Rights Defenders 2015/Women’s Learning Partnership Mahnaz Afkhami & Ann Eisenberg Published in English; available online at www.learningpartnership.org/beyond-equality-manual-human-rights-defenders A quick review of recent news headlines reveals the world’s growing detachment from finding solutions to human rights issues and, increasingly, shows that states…
EPOCA Interview: Mahnaz Afkhami on How the Struggle for More Rights in Iran Has Yielded Gains
In an interview with Brazilian magazine, EPOCA, Mahnaz Afkhami speaks about Ghoncheh Ghavami in Tehran, who was arrested for trying to watch a volleyball game as a woman. The interview addresses Afkhami’s prominent role as a women’s rights activist living in exile. “In the episode of the game of volleyball, Afkhami believes the incessant media…
WFPG Series "Beyond the Headlines," Highlights of the 2014 Meeting on Commission on the Status of Women
The 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was held in New York in March, 2014. Mahnaz Afkhami gave an overview of the conference to the Women’s Foreign Policy Group (WFPG), touching on key issues including pushback against the Beijing Declaration, women’s role in peacebuilding, and violence against women.