Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh facts for kids

Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh (Persian: محبوبه عباسقلی‌زاده) is an Iranian activist, researcher, journalist, and filmmaker. She works to support women's rights in Iran. She leads the Zanan Broadcasting Network and is an active member of important movements. These include the Stop Stoning Forever campaign, which works against a very harsh punishment, and the Iranian Women's Charter movement. She used to be in charge of the Association of Women Writers and Journalists. She was also the main editor for a journal about women's studies called Farzeneh. Because of her work, she has faced difficulties and legal challenges. In 2010, after she moved to Europe, a court in Iran gave her a sentence related to her activism.

Early Life and Education

Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh was born in Khoramshahr, a city in southern Iran, in 1958. She studied at several universities in Tehran. She earned a bachelor's degree in theology from Tehran University. She also received a bachelor's degree in Islamic Sciences from Islamic Azad University. Later, she earned a master's degree in Communication Sciences from Allameh Tabatabaee University. She also studied Arabic literature at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt.

Starting Her Activism

Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh was part of Iran's Islamic Revolution. This experience made her interested in how the Quran could be understood to support women. She joined a group that studied the Quran with Monir Gurji and Monir Amadi. Together, in 1986, they started the Institute of Women's Studies and Research (IWSR).

In 1993, she became the editor of the institute's journal, Farzaneh, which means "Wise Woman." She continued to edit this journal even after leaving the IWSR in 2003. In her first editorial for Farzaneh, she wrote about why studying women's issues is important. She believed it could help women live good Islamic lives. In 1997, because women's publications were facing challenges from the government, she created the Association of Women Writers and Journalists.

Important Campaigns

Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh has been very active in several important campaigns. She supported the Women's Access to Public Stadiums campaign, which worked for women to be allowed into sports stadiums. She also played a key role in the Stop Stoning Forever campaign. This campaign aimed to end the practice of stoning as a punishment. She was also involved in the Iranian Women's Charter, which promotes women's rights.

Facing Challenges for Her Work

Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh has faced difficulties because of her activism. On November 1, 2004, she was detained for about a month after giving a speech in Bangkok. Her personal belongings were taken, and the Non-Governmental Organisation Training Centre (NGOTC), where she was a director, was closed.

She was detained again on March 4, 2007. This happened before International Women's Day, during a peaceful protest in Tehran. She was showing support for other women activists who were on trial. This time, she was held for over a month in Evin Prison.

On December 21, 2009, she was detained a third time. This was when she and others tried to attend the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri. He was a respected religious leader who had spoken out against the government's actions after the 2009 presidential elections. She was released after 24 hours. She then left Iran for Europe. In May 2010, a court gave her a sentence related to her activism, even though she was not in the country.

Awards and Current Work

Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh received the 2010 Johann Philipp Palm Prize. This award is given to people who bravely support freedom of expression and the press. She is currently teaching a course at UConn called "Women's Social Movements in Muslim Contexts."

Works

Writing

• "Chirā Farzānah?" [Why Farzaneh?], Farzaneh 1 (Fall 1993)
• "The Experience of Islamic Feminism in Iran," Farzaneh 15, no. 10 (Winter 2000): 7-14

Films

• Women Behind Bars.