Mahnaz Afkhami was honored alongside Shirin Ebadi at the Royal United Services Institute in London for her lifelong work to promote women’s human rights. The event was hosted by Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security and featured a panel discussion on human rights in Iran. “Mahnaz Afkhami…
Tag: Women’s Rights
PAAIA's 2019 Civic Engagement Forum: An Empowering and Successful First
Mahnaz Afkhami spoke at the inaugural Civic Engagement Forum, hosted by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA). The forum, which launched PAAIA’s new Civic Engagement Initiative, featured panels on a variety of topics including advocacy, political campaigns, and running for office as an Iranian-American woman. “We heard from inspiring leaders in and outside…
Why did the Shah send the Constitution to the Cabinet? (in Persian)
In an interview conducted by Radio Farda, Mahnaz Afkhami speaks about her time as the Minister of Women’s Affairs in pre-revolutionary Iran, including the obstacles she faced in addressing women’s issues. Afkhami also corrects the misconception that the Shah was the one and only decision maker for the country, saying his ministers were truly powerful…
Feminist Advocacy, Family Law and Violence Against Women: Introduction
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…
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…
BBC: The History Hour: Women's Rights in Iran
Max Pearson’s The History Hour on the BBC World Service featured Mahnaz Afkhami on 17 Feb 2018. Afkhami was asked about her role as Iran’s first ever minister on Women’s Affairs: “It was a very interesting experience. There were 20 men and I was the only woman and I was very young….When I had meetings,…
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.