MORA RAHGOZAR is an Iran-Danish accomplished film editor, creative producer and activist. She came to Denmark as a four-year-old when her mother fled from a regime she did not agree with and in which she could not imagine her daughters growing up. They spent a year in a refugee camp and was then brought into the Danish society. Mora grew up in Denmark, always making an effort to fit in and adapt to the Danish culture. Her whole life she has downplayed her own story thinking because they had not crossed mountains by foot or been smuggled into Denmark her story was not worth telling. Now, in light of Masha (Jina) Amini’s death and all the atrocities currently taking place in her home country, Mora has come to understand that her story matters and deep inside her lie trauma and memories she has never dealt with until now. This is why Mora has become a dedicated activist and has decided to do everything in her power to help and support the fight for freedom – even if it is from a distance.

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IN THIS EPISODE Mora talks about her own identity as woman, as a mother, as a Dane, as an Iranian and as a Persian. What do all these identities mean and how do you come to understand who you really are? Mora has finally found “her people”, her community, in Copenhagen Denmark, and for the first time she is embracing 100% her Iranian ethnicity with pride and affection. While this is not a political conversation, Mora explains us the complexity of being an Iranian living in Denmark and observing from a distance how family members and friends are out in the streets of Tehran fighting for their freedom.

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO SUPPORT?

While many brave men in Iran are helping and supporting the women, this is a fight initiated by the women of Iran and it is a message to the patriarchy of the world – not just in Iran. See below how to support and help this fight.

Mora suggest these ways to help and support:

Instagram accounts to follow:

@womanlifefreedom.art

@iraniandiasporacollective

@generation_azadi_cph

Hashtags to use:

#Mahsaamini

#Jinaamina

#Womanlifefreedom

#Iranrevolution

#Stoptheexecution

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This Interview was recorded Thursday, December 8th 2022

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen.

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com

Instagram: @louisebrixa

ZEN DONEN is a Danish lawyer and board member of the NGO, Everyday Sexism Project Denmark which is a voluntary organization that collects experiences about everyday sexism and informs, enlightens and fights sexism. Everyday Sexism Project was founded in 2012, in the UK, by Laura Bates who created a website where she collected experiences with sexism. In 2013 a team of Danish women started Everyday Sexism Project Danmark and Zen was there from the beginning. 

Zen also writes articles in various different newspapers and magazines.

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IN THIS EPISODE Zen tells us about the pyramid they use in Everyday Sexism Project Danmark. At the top we have gender violence and femicide, and at the bottom we have the everyday sexism. Zen explains us how harmful the micro sexism is and she defines it as death by a thousand cuts. Zen let’s us understand that they are the micro aggressions and everyday sexism that slowly evolves into the more serious offenses like domestic violence, rape and femicide - that is why it is so important to deal with the everyday sexism. A long and very extensive talk about all the aspects of sexism. 

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Find out more about Everyday Sexism Project: www.everydaysexism.com / www.everydaysexismproject.dk

Follow the organization

Facebook: @EverydaySexismProject / @TheEverydaySexismProjectDanmark 

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This Interview was recorded Sunday, January 4th 2022 

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com 

Instagram: @louisebrixa

WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative

MIA VASSALLO is a business woman in her early 30s who was once told in meeting: “you are a very nice and pretty girl but no one is ever going to want to do business with you”. So, she founded her own highly successful company ZCV Capital and Consulting based in Melbourne Australia, where she works on high level transactions across Australia, the Middle East and Europe. Unfortunately, there are still plenty of inequality and bias in the world of economics, and there are very few women in managerial positions. Despite the fact that Mia looks specifically to work with women only very few, out of all the projects she works on, are women. 

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IN THIS EPISODE Mia talks about some of the challenges she has faced as a businesswoman. She tells us about the time she was pulled away for 4 hours of questioning in the airport because they thought it was more likely she was a sexworker or drug trafficker than a well-dressed businesswoman. Mia also talks about the research she did in 2021 with an Australian government agency about women in managerial positions proving that we are still very far from equality - let’s not forget it is only 48 years since an American woman could get a credit from the bank with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) in 1974. 

Both Mia and I share how lonely we have felt in our career, and the importance of finding a community and possibly mentors to guide you on your path. Mia explains about her own personal growth from her early 20s and shares valuable tips on how to start out in the world of finance, how to deal with the fear of big budgets, how to deal with stress and much more. 

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Find out more about Mia’s company: www.zcvcap.com

Follow her

LinkedIn: @miavassallo

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This Interview was recorded Sunday, October 17th 2021 

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com 

Instagram: @louisebrixa

WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative

ANA BOVINO is an Argentinean filmmaker and political scientist based in Barcelona whose sister survived a terrible femicide attempt in her dance studio in Buenos Aires. The incident was massively reproduced in a violent media circus. Furious with the current narrative of portraying women and trans people in the media as helpless victims, she decided to make a documentary as her personal reaction to the horrors of gender violence.

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IN THIS EPISODE Ana talks about how in 2016 the mass communication came together in Argentina and created a movement with the hashtag #niunamenos ("Not one [woman] less”) in reaction to the terrible statics for femicides in her country. Ana talks about femicide from her own personal and intimate point of view. She explains us what is wrong with the current narrative of victims, and why we should be given them a voice and NOT a face.  

Ana and I talk about stalking and how often women are branded as “crazy” instead of looking at the red flags and dangers when a man clearly is obsessing over her. In Argentina, gender violence is finally being addressed from a solution-orientated point of view – watch the episode to find out what is being done. 

Finally, Anna also tells us about her documentary film LAS MIL (The Thousand) which is her her answer to the horrors of gender violence. The title is inspired by the old folk tale Arabian nights (also known as 1001 nights). Watch Ana explaining the tale of Scheherazade, who was a political strategist, and not a sex entertainer of the king, as male authors, translators, and scholars would like to have us believe. 

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Follow her

Instagram: @anitabovino

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This Interview was recorded Thursday, October 14th 2021 

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com 

Instagram: @louisebrixa

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WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative

DANIELLA MEANS is an international Elite powerlifter, a strongwoman and former rugby player at the women’s national team who grew up in, what she describes as the safest place on earth, Hong Kong. She moved to LA with her partner, and together they opened Hybrid Gym. One morning, Daniella is out for a walk with her dog when a man viciously attacks her with a hammer. Only two months after the attack Daniella competed in her first US National championship – the USPA Power National Championship – and came in 3rd!

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IN THIS EPISODE Daniella talks us through the day a man, in broad daylight, came up to her and attacked her with a hammer because she wouldn’t let him have her bag. While Daniella still deals with trauma and the fear of walking the streets alone, she explains us how her daily routine and training in the gym helped her through this difficult time.

Daniella and I also share experiences from the gym, and we talk about how body ideals are slowly changing for women. In the 90s women had to be stick skinny, but today female fighters of the UFC and other organizations are changing the image thus allowing for women to be big and strong. Yet, Daniella still has to face comments about her figure from both friends and family because Asian women are expected to be petite – and Daniella is NOT. 

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Find out more about Daniella’s gym: www.hybridgymlosangeles.com 

Follow her and her gym

Instagram: @daniellameans, @hybridgymla, @hybridgymhk

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This Interview was recorded Wednesday, July 22nd 2021

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com 

Instagram: @louisebrixa

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WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative

AMALIA CARDENAS is a Mexican / American web designer and developer who focuses on diversity in tech. She is an organizer at Codebar Barcelona, a non-profit initiative that aims to bridge the diversity gap in the tech industry by running free regular programming workshops aimed at women, LGBTQ and people from underrepresented minority groups. The goal is to enable the students to learn programming in a safe and collaborative environment and expand their career opportunities. Recently Amalia helped a woman in her 60s to make a career transition proving that you are never too old to learn something new. She also has her own podcast: Anyone Can Code. 

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IN THIS EPISODE In this episode Amalia tells us about the world of technology and programming – a world in which, until recently, we see very little diversity. The good news is, there is a huge demand for tech people, so companies are increasingly becoming more and more aware of the need of change and improvement in this area. Amalia and I also talk about the insecurities and fears one can have when transitioning into a new career, and about the great expectations we have to our own life.

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Follow her

Facebook: @profile.php?id=1231517

Twitter (Codebar): @codebarBCN

Podcast: [Link](https://open.spotify.com/show/29Xx60E7dmaeAnIxpxTHIO?si=mkGgXA8rQ0W8mzrQ0lp0Tw&nd=1)  

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This Interview was recorded Friday June 25th 2021

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com 

Instagram: @louisebrixa

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WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative

Cali Gilbert is an American former figure skater who has experienced homelessness, twice. However, losing everything, and standing on the street with only her laptop and a few personal items in her hand, did not stop her from becoming a published writer, award winning filmmaker, a photographer and now creating her own non-profit organization for women who are either currently homeless or on the brink or just getting out of it.

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IN THIS EPISODE Cali speaks about the misconception we have of homeless women, and she shares her own personal and intimate experience with homelessness. She feels when it comes to homelessness, the focus should be on prevention. Watch the video to learn how Cali managed to reset her life and become a successful writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur. 

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Find out more about Cali and her important work: www.caligilbert.com / www.Tower15Productions.com

Follow her

Instagram: @Tower15Productions 

Twitter: @thecaligilbert

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This Interview was recorded Monday, June 21st 2021

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com

Instagram: @louisebrixa

WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative

METTE-ANN SCHEPELERN  is a Danish film producer/director with many years of experience in the film industry having working at the Danish Film Institute, at the National Film School of Denmark and as film festival director at the BUFF Malmo film festival. Today she is founder & the CEO of Magma film & television. Mette-Ann is also an activist and advocate for human rights.

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IN THIS EPISODE Mette-Ann and I dive deep into a very complex conversation about activism and finding the balance and tone in the gender equality debate. Mette-Ann talks about the metoo movement and how it has impacted our society. Denmark had its first real metoo wave in the Summer of 2020, and it helped expose a “modern” society with a huge lack of equality on all levels. There is indeed something rotten in the state of Denmark.

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Follow her

Facebook: @metteann.schepelern

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This Interview was recorded Tuesday, June 1st 2021

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com

Instagram: @louisebrixa

WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative

CHELO ALVAREZ STEHLE is a Spanish / American journalist and documentary filmmaker, who has worked close to two decades on exposing stories of sexual exploitation and trafficking. In 2016, she produced her first feature-length documentary, Sands of Silence: Waves of Courage, a film that addresses the full spectrum of sexual violence, from child sexual abuse and priest abuse to sexual assault and sex trafficking.

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IN THIS EPISODE Chelo and I speak about the full spectrum of sexual violence. When are you “allowed” to be considered a victim? I share a very personal story about an encounter, I had with a pedophile 20 years ago, and Chelo also shares intimate and private stories about her own abuse.  

It’s hard for us to look at pedophiles as anything but a monster, however Chelo explains us how important it is to humanize the aggressor as part of a way to rehabilitate this person. 

We also debate what it means to separate the art from the artist – it’s time to stop glorifying pedophilic rapists like Woody Allen who is clearly trying to control the narrative and normalize inappropriate behavior through his films, and Roman Polanski who is a self-admitted pedophilic rapist.

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Find out more about Chelo and her film Sands of Silence: www.sandsofsilence.org

Follow her

Instagram: @sosdocumentary

Facebook: @chelo.alvarez.stehle

Twitter:  @sandsofsilence

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This Interview was recorded Wednesday, May 12th 2021

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com

Instagram: @louisebrixa

WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative

RIKKE TIANA is a Danish actress who was caught in a web of gangs, drugs and alcohol  at the age of 13 where she also was raped for the first time by a  photographer. During the time she was involved with gangs, she was a  victim of child sexual abuse and discrimination. Rikke has decided to  speak up about her dark past and in doing so, hopefully, inspire young  girls to stand up for themselves and not be embarrassed about abuse and  discrimination.

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IN THIS EPISODE Rikke speaks openly about sexual  abuse of minors and how easily influenced you are as a young teenager when your greatest wish is to be seen, loved and accepted.

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Follow her

Instagram: @rikketiana

Facebook: @rikketiana.christensen.7

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This Interview was recorded Thursday May 6th 2021

Created and hosted by: Louise Brix Andersen

Find out more about the work of Louise: www.louisebrix.com

Instagram: @louisebrixa

WATCH ON: https://xotv.me/channels/473-changing-the-narrative