Taking up the fight for Iranian women’s rights

When news broke last September of 22-yearold Mahsa Amini’s death in Iranian police custody following her arrest for alleged improper wearing of a hijab, Iranian women took to the streets en masse in protest, triggering worldwide civil unrest around the loss of women’s freedoms in Iran. But while the tragedy was a catalyst for this fresh wave of activism, the fight has been going on for centuries – a reality that Charles Sturt alumni Shokufeh Kavani and Professor Shokoofeh Shamsi know all too well.

Freedom to follow your dreams

Shokufeh Kavani came to Australia in 1997 on a skilled migrant visa. Finding her Iranian nursing degree unrecognised, she studied nursing at Charles Sturt University and built a thriving career as a Registered Nurse working in operating theatres. But she always held onto a dream of studying genetics, a path denied to her in Iran.

“I was told I couldn’t study genetics because I'm a woman; it was forbidden,” Shokufeh – who has since completed a Graduate Diploma of Genetic Counselling at Charles Sturt – recalls.

It was a time of great turmoil, both in Iran and for Shokufeh personally. Her sister – a mathematical genius and prodigious chess player – was among the first to become a political prisoner in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. “They closed down the universities and destroyed not only her life, but that of her whole generation. She ran away and I didn’t know where she was, but she later wrote a letter to me that was intercepted by the Iranian guard. They interrogated me; it was dark, and they closed my eyes. It was in that moment that I decided to leave Iran before they destroyed my life too.”

Shokufeh is also an accomplished translator and award-winning visual artist, her art a tool for political and personal expression. She has since exhibited all around the world, including featuring three works in the 2011 Florence Biennale – viewed by then United Nations SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan.

“There was a lack of postmodern revolutionary art that explored what happened to my generation, and it became a way for me to express these emotions and experiences. People connect with my paintings, and through them I can draw attention to the realities of life for Iranian women and tear down the stereotypes.”

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Opportunity without limits

For Professor Shokoofeh Shamsi, coming to Australia presented a chance to fulfil her dreams unfettered by the restrictions of an oppressive regime.

“Because of the limitations and absolute lack of human rights in Iran, particularly for women, I sought to find a new country where I could pursue my passion for science,” Shokoofeh recalls.

“An opportunity came up for a PhD scholarship at the University of Melbourne and I came to Australia with my daughter, who was just 26 days old at the time. I could immediately see how different this country is, how much opportunity exists even for immigrants like myself, and decided it was a good place for us both.”

Shokoofeh applied for permanent residency, and after completing her PhD, was offered her dream job – an academic role blending research and teaching – at Charles Sturt’s Wagga Wagga campus in 2009. Today, she is Professor in Veterinary Parasitology, where she fuses her expertise in veterinary and medical sciences to make major advances including discovering 37 new parasite species. She has also completed graduate studies in leadership and management at Charles Sturt and is co-convenor of the University’s Senior Women Forum.

“Even now, here in Australia, I’ve never had a female supervisor or mentor. So I’m passionate about training other women and doing whatever I can to create change and increase diversity and inclusivity. It’s an important aspect of the feminist revolution because it’s not just Iranian women who are held back.”

Collective voices for change

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Leadership and Management, 2017

The uprising in Iran is the first feminist-led movement in the nation’s history, offering greater potential for inclusivity than ever before. It spans women across every generation, supported by open-minded Iranians of every gender seeking a positive shift in equality and human rights. Shokufeh and Shokoofeh are prominent advocates for the movement in Australia, galvanising support through activism –in the streets of our cities and online –and bringing the conversation to our national consciousness. The pair are urging their fellow Australians to add their voices to the cause. Fundamental to their plea for support is getting people to understand that this isn’t just a problem for Iranian women; it’s everybody’s fight.

“It’s about the collective trauma that Iranian women have suffered at the hands of Iran’s government and the conservative class of society, and it affects not only women but also their children, husbands, brothers, and fathers,” says Shokufeh.

“What is happening in Iran is everyone’s business. We can’t just put it in the toohard basket because it doesn’t affect our everyday lives, when the atrocities against women – including inviting foreign nationals such as Dr Kylie Moore to Iran and then imprisoning them, or killing them in their own country – continue. We must all stand up and ask our democratic governments not to be silent and to take action,” Shokoofeh adds.

Advice from Shokufeh and Shokoofeh on how you can help, right now

• Share news from reliable sources on the movement and plight of Iranian women via social media.

• Join a protest in your city or online to show it’s not only Iranian people that support women’s rights in Iran.

• Contact politicians in your electorate and implore them to raise the issue in Parliament.