Mahnaz Afkhami

BBC Persian: Women’s Political Participation in Iran (In Persian)

Mahnaz Afkhami and Mehrangiz Kar, lawyer and human rights activist, speak with BBC Persian about women’s political participation in Iran on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of being accorded their right to vote.

VOA Extended Profile: Historical Context for The Women’s Movement in Iran, and the life and work of Mahnaz Afkhami (In Persian)

این برنامۀ مستند و نیم ساعتۀ صدای آمریکا به زندگی نامۀ مهناز افخمی اختصاص دارد و درعین حال به مروری بر بافتار تاریخی جنبش زنان ایران که در آستانۀ انقلاب مشروطیت در اوائل قرن بیستم آغاز شد، به تدریج توان یافت و در مراحل گوناگون به ثمر رسید. در ده سالی که وی در مقام دبیرکل سازمان زنان ایران خدمت می کرد، و به ویژه در سه سال عضویت اش در کابینه به عنوان وزیر مشاور در امور زنان- مقامی که تا آن هنگام در هیچ یک از کشورهای خاورمیانه و آفریقای شمالی وجود نداشت- زنان ایران در احقاق حقوق و آزادی هایشان در همۀ عرصه های زندگی سیاسی و اجتماعی و خانوادگی به دستاوردهای بی سابقه رسیده بودند.
این برنامه، در روایتی مصور، رویدادهای عمدۀ زندگی شخصی مهناز افخمی را به عنوان همسر، خواهر، مادر و مادر بزرگ نیز ترسیم می کند. از دوران کودکی تا دوران دشوار تحصیل و کارِ همزمان در ایالات متحد، از کوچ ناخواسته از وطن تا بازسازی زندگی در غربت

The half hour video provides the historical context for the women’s movement in Iran from its early beginnings just before the constitutional revolution of 1906 through the efforts at networking and organizing to promote girls education in the 1930’s, women’s political rights in the 1950s and 60s, and finally reform of the family laws in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The documentary focuses on the life and work of Mahnaz Afkhami, especially 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 Women’s Affairs in the Middle East and North Africa Region, to examine the achievements of women during this period while presenting a portrait of Afkhami as wife, sister, mother, and grandmother.

2012 Iranian-American Women Leadership Conference

Several hundred women gathered on June 23 on the campus of Georgetown University for the first-ever Iranian-American Women Leadership Conference held on the East coast. The Iranian-American Women Foundation (IAW) co-hosted the event along with the World Bank’s Persian Gender Network and the IMF Iranian Staff Club.

Iran Before Islam: Challenging Stereotypes Through Art

Americans are bombarded with media coverage of the three-decade-old Islamic Republic and its nuclear aspirations. But there’s more to Iran than Ahmdainejad, as can be seen in the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries’ new project, Feast Your Eyes: A Taste of Luxury in Ancient Iran. The Atlantic invited a panel of Iranian-American leaders to discuss the exhibit. Taking part in the dialogue are Azar Nafisi, the much-acclaimed Iranian-American author of long-standing New York Times bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran; Massumeh Farhad, chief curator and curator of Islamic Art Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery; and Mahnaz Afkhami.

Women’s Rights are Human Rights: Using CEDAW to Advance Women’s Human Rights LIVE

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to enact legal reforms and undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all its forms.

Documentary From Fear to Freedom: Stopping Gender-based Violence Premiere

In collaboration with The New School, Women’s Learning Partnership premieres its new documentary From Fear to Freedom: Stopping Gender-based Violence in a Transitioning World. Introductory remarks to be made by Mahnaz Afkhami, and followed by a discussion by global leaders working at the national and international levels about the relationship between advancing women’s rights, combating gender-based violence, and forming stable democractic societies during this crucial time of transition in the MENA region and beyond. Panelists included: Lina Abou-Habib (Lebanon), Lydia Alpizar-Duran (Costa Rica/Mexico), Sawsan Gad (Egypt), Rabea Naciri (Morocco) and Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini (Iran/UK).

Mahnaz Afkhami Testifies at U.S. Senate Hearing “Women and the Arab Spring”

“The grim truth is that women who are struggling to advance human rights and create secular, pluralistic, democratic societies, face grave challenges rooted in tradition and history. Traditional social and cultural norms have relegated Middle Eastern women and girls to a private space, and they often lack the social, economic, and political power they need to overcome antagonistic groups and regressive policy,” Afkhami stated as a witness testifying at the hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operation and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues and Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Central Asia Affairs spotlighting Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.

CNN’s Amanpour: Panel Discussion with Activists on Women’s Rights in the Middle East

CNN / By Christiane Amanpour / Part 2; Part 3
Women’s rights have advanced in many Muslim countries, but women still suffer from more inequality than anywhere else. Joining Christiane Amanpour are three women who’ve made it their mission to promote gender equality: the president and CEO of the Women’s Learning Partnership, Mahnaz Afkhami, she’s a former minister for women’s affairs in Iran; Asma Khader, who is secretary general of the Jordanian National Commission for Women and a former culture minister; and Lina Abou Habib, executive director of a Lebanese organization that tries to empower women.

“It is better to work in partnership than to work alone”

New School for Social Research / By Mahnaz Afkhami

Mahnaz Afkhami delivers the opening remarks during a one-day conference in cooperation with the Social Research Journal, entitled “2020 Vision: Mobilizing for Women’s Rights and Eliminating Violence Against Women.” The conference keynote speakers were Shirin Ebadi, Thoraya Obaid, Mary Robinson, and Melanne Verveer.

Interview with Mahnaz Afkhami, the second woman minister in the history of Iran (In Persian)

BBC Persian Hardtalk / By Enayat Fani Afkhami looks back on the complex issues of advancing women’s rights in Iran: from her time working as Minister for Women’s Affairs in pre revolutionary Iran, and using economic development goals as a way of advancing the status of women and promoting reform of family law. BBC Persian [...]