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 Organization of Iran
Women’s Human Rights: From Global Declarations to Local Implementation
Introduction Since the adoption of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the effect of international conferences, laws, resolutions, and consequent documents on rights on the struggle for women’s human rights at regional, national, and local levels has been a matter of debate and controversy. In my view, they have been and…
1818 Society Bulletin-- Gender and Development
The 1818 Society – an organization of former World Bank Group employees – hosted Mahnaz Afkhami as a guest speaker to discuss the progress of international conventions on the status of women. “Looking ahead, the overall challenge is to reconstruct our 21st century society. Dr. Afkhami’s vision is that this can be achieved with both…
A Night to Celebrate Courageous Refugees and Migrants
In October, 2015, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service honored Mahnaz Afkhami with the Walk of Courage Award for her commitment to walking alongside and raising the voices of migrants and immigrants. The keynote address was delivered by Enrique’s Journey author, Sonia Nazario.

Shirin Neshat: Facing History
[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”] Shirin Neshat: Facing History Edited by Melissa Chiu and Melissa Ho Publisher: Smithsonian Books/ Washington D.C./ Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (2015) In her mesmerizing films and photographs, Shirin Neshat (Iranian-American, b. 1957, Qazvin) examines the nuances of power and identity in the Islamic world–particularly…
Last Female Minister: Khomeini Introduced the Sexual Apartheid, but Iranian Women Are Successfully Fighting Against It
In an interview with Croatian magazine, Tportal, Mahnaz Afkami speaks about the women who participated in the Arab Spring, progress made on women’s rights in Iran, and her broad knowledge of Iran and the Islamic world.
Radio Pooya Interview with Mahnaz Afkhami (In Persian)
At this interview conducted by Iranian novelist Shahrnush Parsipur, Mahnaz Afkhami recounts her life story, starting from the time she taught English literature at the National University of Iran, trying to “help create a cohesive community of female students who could face the modern world” to the time when she set up Women’s Learning Partnership…
VOA Extended Profile: Historical Context for The Women's Movement in Iran, and the life and work of Mahnaz Afkhami
The half hour video produced by VOA provides the historical context for the women’s movement in Iran, focusing on the life and work of Mahnaz Afkhami. The biopic covers her ten-year tenure as the Secretary General of the Women’s Organization of Iran and her three years in the Iranian cabinet as the first Minister of…