Shahla Sherkat (born March 30, 1956) is an Iranian journalist, publisher, author, feminist, women's rights activist. She is a prominent

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 ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

author, and one of the pioneers of

Women's rights movement in Iran The Iranian Women's Rights Movement (Persian: جنبش زنان ایران), is the social movement for women's rights of the women in Iran. The movement first emerged after the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in 1910, the year in which the f ...

Biography

Sherkat was born in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

, Iran. She holds a bachelor's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

and a certificate in journalism from Keyhan Institute, also in Tehran. Since 2002, she has been working towards her master's degree in women's studies from Allameh Tabatabai University. Shahla Sherkat is founder and publisher of ''

Zanan magazine ''Zanan'' ( fa, زنان, italic=yes, lit=Women) was a monthly women's magazine published in Iran. It was the only Persian women's magazine in the country. The magazine ceased publication in 2008, but was relaunched on 29 May 2014. In Septembe ...

'' (English:"women"), which focuses on the concerns of

Iranian women Throughout history, women in Iran have played numerous roles, and contributed in many ways, to Iranian society. Historically, tradition maintained that women be confined to their homes so that they could manage the household and raise children ...

and continually tested the political waters with its edgy coverage of everything from reform politics to domestic abuse to sex. ''Zanan'' had been the most important Iranian women's journal after the Iranian revolution. After Zanan magazine was banned after 16 years of publication, she opened

Zanan-e Emruz ''Zanan Emrooz'' is an Iranian monthly magazine owned by Shahla Sherkat which started its publication in June 2014. After 11 volumes, it was suspended in April 2015 and re-launched publication in October 2015. The magazine is a continuation of a for ...

. Sherkat has had to appear in court on several occasions when Zanan's content was considered by the Iranian government to be pushing boundaries too far. In 2001 she was sentenced to four months in prison for attending a conference in Berlin at which the future of politics in Iran was discussed following the success of reformist candidates in a parliamentary election.

Honours and awards

* 2005 Louis Lyons Award, The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University * 2005 The Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation (

IWMF The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...

)

References

Shahla Sherkat, Iran
International Women's Media Foundation

External links

* Farideh Farhi, ''The Attempted Silencing of Zanan'', Informed Comment: Global Affairs, Friday, February 1, 2008

* Amal Hamada, ''Zanan: An Iranian Reformist Women's Magazine'', IslamOnline, Tuesday, February 17, 2004

* ''Zanān'' (Women) Magazine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherkat, Shahla Magazine publishers (people) Writers from Isfahan Iranian journalists Iranian women writers Iranian women's rights activists Iranian feminists Iranian democracy activists 1956 births Living people Proponents of Islamic feminism

Biography

Honours and awards

See also

References

External links