Iranian Women Writers and the Public Sphere Professor Farzaneh Milani, University of Virginia

Women in Contemporary Iran
Shahla Lahiji

Shahla Lahiji, the founder and director of Roshangaran and Women's Studies publishing, is known as active researchers in the issues related to women in Iran particularly journalism and writing. She is a graduate of Open University of London in the field of Sociology. She is the author of “Woman's Image in the works of Bahram Beizaei," "Understanding the Iranian woman’s identity in pre-historic historic periods" (written with the cooperation of Mehrangiz kar), and "Woman in search of freedom: rise and fall of women's movement in German social democracy" (written with the cooperation of Farideh Assarpour.

While the situation of women in contemporary Iran has been one of the hottest issues among international circles, Lahiji explains that “in spite of a only the deficiencies are emphasized.” In her talk she argues that “the continuous efforts of our women to participate in all social activities in the areas which have not been previously achievable are easily dismissed.  This includes film making and related careers, where the Iranian women has pondered, researched, studied, and talked about her shortages and claimed her rights. Being engaged in this career for less than ten years, these women are working in very challenging conditions which imposes limitations on them. Nevertheless, they work has been welcomed by public and they have been more successful than their male counterparts in picturing a more realistic image of Iranian society.”

Women in Contemporary Iran: Problems and Challenges
Ziba Abdolahzadeh Lahiji

Ziba Abdollahzadeh Lahiji is a graduate of Educational Sciences from Tehran University. She has worked as social worker with the State’s Welfare Organization as an expert on mentally and physically challenged, and the victims of social harm. She is presently the manager of Roshangaran Women's Studies Publishing. In her talk, she will reflect on her a twenty-four-year work experience working with women victims. She will examine means of population development, political participation, and social empowerment of women in Iran. She will also reflect on problems and challenges associated with violence against women, domestic violence, addiction, prostitution, runaway girls, mental and behavioral disorders, health problems, suicide, singleness, and divorce. As women's participation has a relatively improved after the revolution, the above problems and challenges associated with this participation have also increased. This talk will analyze how the Iranian government has been trying to hide its incapability in solving these problems.

Iranian Women’s Employment Initiatives: Difficulties and Challenges
Firouzeh Saber

Firoozeh Saber is a graduate with a B.A degree of Business Administration from Alzahra University and her Master's degree in Executive Management. She has been working on employment initiatives for women in Iran mainly job creation. She has conducted many researches in this field including “ the National Project of Promoting Job Creation and Rehabilitation of Job Creating Women"( for the Ministry of Interior); the project of "Rehabilitation of the Capability and Promoting the Job Creating Potential of Women Graduates" (for the Ministry of Sciences Research and Technology); “Development Plans of Women's Job Creation in Iran” (for the Industrial Management Organization);  and “Study of Women's Role in Higher Education” (for the Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology). Firoozeh Saber has also held many job creation workshops, job opportunities search workshops, and classes for women in the field of management. In her endeavors towards this objective, Firoozeh Saber, has written and published a book under the tile "Methods of Developing the Job Creation of Women in Iran".

Saber emphasizes, "Women constitute approximately half of the country's population and allocate a considerable part of the active economic population to themselves. Their proportion in the educated society has an ascending trend. However, they have not possessed a proper share in the national economy yet. The young age composition, increase in the share of women's presence in the universities, and higher education institutes and on the other hand the low ratio rate of women's activities, job deficiency and unemployment increase, job limitations in public sector together with the emergence of creative ideas, all require a ground on which the job creative activities could be developed. The research carried out on five job-creating women in Iran shows some common limitations existing among them. A study on the performance of job creating women indicates that they have passed through the boundaries of problems set for them and have been able to pave their way towards achieving their objectives by creating works and adopting new policies.  Having knowledge over successful models shall pave the way for encouragement and improvement of women’s job creation in Iran.

Philosophy as a New Sphere for Iranian Women
Nushin Shahandeh

A graduate of Master's of philosophy from Allameh Tabatabaei University, Shahandeh is interested in feminist interpretation of different philosophical views. Shahandeh’s first book titled "Woman in Niche's Opinion" was followed by her translation of Christian Dopisam "The City of Women", soon to be published. Shahandeh is very much so interested in feminist critiques of existing discourses in literature, political sciences, and social sciences. In her talk she wills examine and emphasizes the ascending trend of feminist writings in the area of philosophy internationally in past two decades.

Women and Drama in Contemporary Iranian Theater
Chista Yasrebi

Chista Yasrabi, the famous playwright is a graduate of educational psychology and a Ph.D. student of psychology. Being a writer, journalist, playwright, poet and university lecturer, she began her professional playwriting from 1989 with a play called "Tomorrow may be the spring". She has been much appreciated and won many prizes at Fajr Theatre Festivals as a playwright and director. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Playwrights of Iran's Theatre House and in-charge of the international committee of the Society of Playwrights.  Recently, Chista Yasrabi won the award for the best play at the Literary Festival of Parvin Etesami. She has written or translated thirty five books in the related fields to drama.

In her talk, she has concentrated on studying the vast and creative presence of women in Iran’s present theatre and concentrated on initiation of special structural approaches. She believes that playwriting of Iranian women during the recent years have undergone dramatic transformation both in the content and in the structure, one which has created a new and realistic approach in Iran’s theatre. The women playwrights may be rightly named as the founders of this great transformation. Study of the women’s playwriting would not be possible without reviewing the ups and downs as well as the changes of the society in which these women are writing their work.

Saber emphasizes, "Women constitute approximately half of the country's population and allocate a considerable part of the active economic population to themselves. Their proportion in the educated society has an ascending trend. However, they have not possessed a proper share in the national economy yet. The young age composition, increase in the share of women's presence in the universities, and higher education institutes and on the other hand the low ratio rate of women's activities, job deficiency and unemployment increase, job limitations in public sector together with the emergence of creative ideas, all require a ground on which the job creative activities could be developed. The research carried out on five job-creating women in Iran shows some common limitations existing among them. A study on the performance of job creating women indicates that they have passed through the boundaries of problems set for them and have been able to pave their way towards achieving their objectives by creating works and adopting new policies.  Having knowledge over successful models shall pave the way for encouragement and improvement of women’s job creation in Iran.

Contemporary Iranian Women Journalists
Lili Farhadpour

Lili Farhadpour is a graduate of Journalism from Alameh Tabatabaei University of Tehran. She has been cooperating with Iranian press working as a journalist for fifteen years. She was the editor of Literature and Art desk of newspapers such as Jamea, Toos, Neshat, and Asre Azadegan, which have all been shut down. She was also a member of the editorial board of journals like Takapoo, Jamea Salem, Hambastegi and Tosea dailies. Farhadpour has also been the editor-in-chief of monthly journals Meya’r and Cha’p Va Enteshar including the weekly feminist journal Fekre Rooz. Since most of the newspapers she has worked at have been shut down Farhadpour is now concentrating on writing fictions. The books written by her include “Berlin Women”, “A Window with Blue Glasses Facing the Back Ally”, “Striped Saturdays and Leaden Seconds.” Elaborating on her speech, she says, "This article is a review of gender roles of women who choose journalism as a career in the present situation of Iran. I will argue that women journalists in Iran can use the particularities of this career as an access tool and means of power control and activism. Due to the extraordinary political stand of Journalism, it can be utilized by women activists in their quest for equality.

Roundtable on Narrative Literature in Contemporary Iran
Chair: Farzaneh Milani, University of Virginia

Mahnaz Attarha Karimi
Author of Such Dance and Sang va Sanubar

Mahnaz Karimi was born in Kashan. She worked as a journalist until she was forty-years-old. She published her first novel, "Such Dance," at the age of forty. The novel "Sanj and Sanoobar", published in 2003, gained great popularity and was chosen as a candidate for many different prizes in 2004.

Parinoush Sani’i
Author of Muhim Man

Parinoosh Saniei, is the writer of the very successful book “My Share”. This book has been published eight times in less than two years.

Mehri Yalfani
Author of Khaneh Dur Ast, Afsanah-’i Khak, and Mah

Mehri Yalfani was born in Hamedan. She has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and she worked in the Ministry of Energy, Khuzistan’s Water and Power Organization, and Tehran Cement Company for twenty years before becoming a professional writer. The first collection of stories written by Mehri Yalfani, was written in 1966 under the name of “Good Days" and the long story “Before Autumn" was written and published after 15 years. In 1984, she immigrated to France and then to Canada where she is residing now. She is the author of  "Dance in front of a broken mirror" published in Iran by Niloofar Publications; "Far from home" published by Iran Ketab Publications in USA and reprinted by  Sholeh Andisheh Publications in Iran. Two other collections of short stories under the names of "Parastoxxx " and "Two sisters" and the novel "myth" (written in English Language) written by Mehri Yalfani, have also been published.