The Stolen Revolution (Part 1)

Iranian women were at the forefront of the revolution. But after the Shah was deposed and Ayatollah Khomeini returned to the country, the new regime turned against them and everything they had fought for. Since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Tehran on Sept. 16, 2022, tens of thousands of women have taken over the streets in dozens of cities across Iran chanting “Women, life, freedom.” These protests are part of a long history of feminist resistance in Iran and the continuation of a struggle that began in 1979. CBC Radio producer Donya Ziaee, interviewed three participants about their thoughts and actions in the time since the Shah’s overthrow. Her one-hour documentary, first broadcast on “Ideas,” forms a two-part series for WINGS.

Part One features Minoo Jalali and Haideh Daragahi. Minoo Jalaili is a women’s rights activist, retired lawyer and chair of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants in London, UK. She fled Iran in 1983. Haideh Daragahi was a professor of English Literature at Tehran University when Khomeini took power and has worked as an academic, women’s rights activist and journalist and has lived in Sweden since 1984.

Part Two focuses upon Shahin Navai, an activist in the women’s movement and a researcher in the field of Entomology. She fled Iran in 1984 and has since lived in Berlin, Germany.

Women’s International News Gathering Service (WINGS) has been covering the global women’s movement and related issues for community radio since 1986 and may be contacted at [email protected].

 


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