Shahla Lahiji (born 1942) ( fa, شهلا لاهیجی) is an Iranian writer, publisher, translator,

women's rights activist Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, and the director of Roshangaran, a publishing house on women's issues.

Career and activities

Lahiji completed a degree in sociology at the Open University of London. She established Roshangaran publishing house in 1983, becoming the first female publisher in Iran. As of 2006 Roshangaran published more than 200 titles which are produced by female authors or which are concerned with women's issues. The publishing house received the

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

prize in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the Pandora prize in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 2001. She was one of 19 writers and intellectuals prosecuted for participating in an academic and cultural conference sponsored by the

Heinrich Böll Foundation The Heinrich Böll Foundation (german: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V., HBS) is a German, legally independent political foundation. Affiliated with the German Green Party, it was founded in 1997 when three predecessors merged. The foundation was n ...

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 ...

on 7–9 April 2000 at which political and social reform in Iran were publicly debated. Before being released on bail in June 2000, Lahiji was kept in Evin Prison and interrogated for several months without access to an attorney. Six of the 19 intellectuals charged in connection with the Berlin conference were acquitted, while 11 were sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to fourteen years, however several, such as notable cleric and writer Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari, have since been released. Shahla Lahiji had been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for interfering with national security by attending the conference, plus another six months for spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic by speaking out about the dangers facing Iranian writers. Her sentence was eventually shortened to six months.

Books

* ''The Quest for Identity : The Image of Iranian Women in Prehistory and History'', co-authored with

Mehrangiz Kar Professor Mehrangiz Kar ( fa, مهرانگیز کار) (born 10 October 1944 Ahvaz, Iran), a human rights lawyer from Iran, is an internationally recognized writer, speaker and activist who advocates for the defense of women’s and human rights in ...

, 1992 * ''Iran Awakening: One Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country'', co-authored with

Azadeh Moaveni Azadeh Moaveni (Persian: آزاده معاونى, born 1976) is an Iranian-American writer, journalist, and academic. She directs the Gender and Conflict Program at the International Crisis Group, and lectures on journalism at New York Universi ...

, 2007 * ''Quello che mi spetta'' by

Parinoush Saniee Parinoush Saniee ( fa, پرینوش صنیعی) is an Iranian novelist. Her novel ''The Book of Fate'' has been translated into 26 languages and the English translation by Sara Khalili was listed by ''World Literature Today'' as one of the "75 not ...

, (Contributor), 2010(first published in 2002)

Other publications

* ''Lahiji, Shahla''Scarecrow Press, Inc 2013.

Honours and awards

* 2001

PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Awards presented by the PEN American Center (today PEN America) that are no longer active. The awards are among many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN in over 145 PEN centres around the world. The PEN American Center awards have been ch ...

* 2006 IPA Publishers' Freedom Prize 21 September 2006, Geneva (Switzerland) and Göteborg (Sweden) – Iranian publisher Shahla Lahiji will receive the first IPA Publishers' Freedom Prize today at the Göteborg Book Fair's opening ceremony, in recognition of her extraordinary defense and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom to publish in her country and globally. Shahla Lahiji was chosen as the prize-winner by the board of the International Publishers' Association (IPA) from among many deserving candidates nominated by IPA members, independent publishers, and human rights organizations.

References

External links