Shadi Amin ( fa, شادی امین; born 1964) is an Iranian writer and
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
. She was forced to leave
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
in early 1980s because of her political activities. Amin is currently living in exile in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Biography
Prior to leaving Iran, Amin had to hide her sexuality in public, though she had freedom to express herself in her own family.
Amin was politically active starting in 1979, when she was only 14: she was against
Khomeini's rule. Eventually, she had to flee in 1983, traveling to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, through
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
to settle in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
.
She has researched
gender discrimination
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
, systematic oppression against women and the state of female
homosexuals and
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
people in the
Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
publishing a book called ''Gender X'' with her findings.
An English synthesis of her findings by Raha Bahreini has been published as well, entitled ''Diagnosing Identities, Wounding Bodies''.
Amin has studied LGBT people in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and describes Turkey as a place where people from Iran can readily seek political asylum.
She is a founding member of the Iranian Women's Network Association (SHABAKEH)
and is currently one of the coordinators of the Iranian Lesbian Network (6Rang).
As a coordinator for 6Rang, she comments on
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
recommendations for
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
in Iran.
She is also a co-founder of the organization
Justice for Iran Justice for Iran (JFI) is a London-based non-governmental human rights organization. The stated objective of the organization is to "address and eradicate the practice of human rights abuses and impunity that empowers officials of the Islamic Republ ...
.
Activities and publications
Amin organized a protest in 2000 at a conference in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
against the conservative backlash then occurring in Islamic State in Iran. As a member of the Berlin Exiled Women of Iran Against Fundamentalism (BEWIAF), she asked to open the conference with a moment of silence for victims of the Islamic Republic, while other members of BEWIAF opened up "the black
chadors they were wearing, inside which were slogans against the meeting and the Islamic Republic." The act led to several members of audience attempting to stop the protestors and the police were called.
Amin won the 2009 Hammed Shahidian Critical Feminist Paper Award jointly with Golrokh Jahangiri.
The award was created in memory of Iranian feminist scholar and professor Hammed Shahidian of the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
and is used to award funds for critical examinations in studies of Middle Eastern women.
Amin used her award to research political prisoners in Iran in the 1980s and study rape and sexual
abuse, which she presented at the seminar ''The Political Prisoners, Beyond the Wall, the Word'' held in Toronto in 2011.
In 2012, Amin was part of a panel with
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, speaking at an event before the
International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). In 2013, she participated in Turkey's
Gay Pride as it was the closest location to Iran where a Pride event was hosted.
Amin took part in a panel with 6Rang at
Istanbul Pride 2014, where she and others discussed forced sex changes that have taken place in Iran.
She and Raha Bahreini spoke about these human rights violations against LGBTQ people in Iran at
Stockholm Pride in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
in 2014.
She was quoted by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', saying, "In a democratic society, a sex-change operation is an option for transsexuals, but in Iran it's an obligation for their survival."
Her selection and translation of
Adrienne Rich and
Audre Lorde's articles were published in a book entitled ''Ghodrat va Lezzat'' (Power and Joy) which is one of the few
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
resources on compulsory heteronormativity and lesbian existence.
She is the co-writer of ''Crime and Impunity; Sexual Torture of Women in Islamic Prisons''. Amin researched, did fieldwork and provided literature review for the publication on human rights violations against LGBT individuals in Iran, ''Patholigizing Identities, Paralyzing Bodies: Human rights Violations Against Gay Lesbian and Transgender People in Iran'' (2014).
Published works
*
*
*
*
Documentary films
* 1995, Beijing Conference and Exiled Women
* 2000, Exilopposition und Berliner Konferenz
* 2012, Endless Nights of Women Prisoners
* 2013, Final Moments
(runner up in the documentary category for the 2014 Women's Voices Now (WVN) Film Festival.)
Awards
* 2009, Hammed Shahidian Critical Feminist Paper Award
See also
*
Shadi Sadr
*
Iranian women's movement
References
External links
Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network
Iranian women's Network Association (SHABAKEH)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amin, Shadi
1964 births
Iranian dissidents
Iranian journalists
Iranian women's rights activists
Living people
Iranian emigrants to Germany
Lesbian writers
Iranian human rights activists
Iranian LGBT rights activists
Iranian LGBT writers
Iranian feminists
Women civil rights activists