Woman, Life, Freedom

Join us in this anniversary episode as we reflect on a year that has changed Iran forever. The Woman, Life, Freedom uprising that began in Iran following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini on 16 September 2022 ignited nationwide demands for a politics that respects life itself. We sit down to discuss […]

During Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom Uprising, questions around Iran’s economy became hotly contested. Join us as economics experts Djavad Salehi-Isfahani and Esfandyar Batmanghelidj take us on a deep dive into understanding Iran’s economy as it intersects with domestic and foreign politics, US-imposed sanctions, and the country’s women and youth.

Iran’s continued suppression of women’s rights and political opportunities has been one of the biggest driving factors of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Join us as we explore gender discrimination in political participation and the Iran Women’s Bill of Rights with Mona Tajali.

Join us as we delve into an illuminating history of sexual politics in modern Iran with the scholar of religion and modernity, Professor Janet Afary.

This movement has been nothing if not poetic. Poet and scholar of Persian literature, Fatemeh Shams, takes us through the slogans of the uprising, and some of the poetry written in its wake.

Social media has been central to the trajectory of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. In this episode, Internet scholar Mahsa Alimardani talks to us about the role of social media in this and previous uprisings, and the state’s cyber strategies for clamping down on freedom of speech in Iran.

In this episode we speak to the foremost scholar of social movements and revolutions in the Middle East, Asef Bayat, and his take on Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Transcripts available on the podcast website, on the bottom of the page.