A Trinity College student from Iran, working to raise awareness of women’s rights in her home country, was on hand to launch a new photographic exhibit celebrating Iranian women’s rights defenders.
Sheelan Yousefizadeh was joined by Nobel Laureate and human rights lawyer Dr Shirin Ebadi for the unveiling of the exhibition at University College Dublin’s Astra Hall on 17 September.
The exhibition, titled ‘Keeping Iran’s Heart Beating – Stories of Women’s Rights Activists’, showcases the stories of both men and women who fight injustices inflicted upon women on a daily basis.
In her introductory speech at the launch event, Yousefizadeh stressed that women are not victims.
“The truth, however, is that Iranian women are at the very heart of the human rights movement, and are some of the most courageous and effective human rights campaigners in Iran,” she said.
The photo exhibit profiles 19 Iranian activists, many of whom have been imprisoned or forced into exile for their work yet continue to fight for their countrywomen’s rights.
Yousefizadeh said that her goal in creating the exhibit was to challenge the negative perception that exists in the western world that women in the Middle East are vulnerable.
The project was dedicated to the memory of two high-profile activists, Halah Sahabi and Bahareh Alavi, both of whom died this past year.
As a young woman, Yousefizadeh said she aspired to be like her role model Dr Eabdi – a “new face” of the strong, knowledgeable, and confident Iranian woman.
The two met in 2007, when Dr Ebadi encouraged Yousefizadeh to remember that she was lucky to be living in a free country such as Ireland.
“If it weren’t for Dr Ebadi’s words of encouragement I wouldn’t be where I am today,” said Yousefizadeh. “I hope that by telling the stories of the 19 activists, I can encourage others to get involved the same way that Dr Ebadi encouraged me.”
Yousefizadeh’s exhibition is one of three own-initiative projects currently run by Trinity students who dedicate their summer to developing such enterprises with the help of community partnerships.
These partnerships, which have previously included Amnesty International, work with students in an advisory capacity and assist with the implementation of the project.
The exhibition was partly funded by the TCD Community Initiative Fund, also in partnership with the Amnesty Iran group in Ireland, and will continue to tour the country for the next year.
For more information, or for anyone interested in hosting the exhibition, send an e-mail to irangroup@amnesty.ie.
