The Women's Society Against Environmental Pollution (WSAEP, ) is a non-governmental women's and environmental rights organisation based in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

History

The organisation was founded in 1993 by Mahlagha Mallah, a retired librarian from the University of Tehran, and Victoria Jamali, an expert on environmental law. Mallah's work began investigation pollution in Tehran in 1978, she then approached foreign embassies in the city in order to research international environmental movements. The

1979 Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

and the Iran-Iraq War halted environmental progress in Iran. However by 1993, Mallah and her husband had established the society and in 1995 it was registered with the Ministry of the Interior, moving to registration with the Department of Environment. This registration enables the organisation to work openly, but is not an endorsement by the government, however it does prohibit WSAEP from criticising it. This means that their campaigns are phrased as "technical" rather than political issues. The first WSAEP branch was established in

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

. Although WSAEP is a society which emphasises the role that women play in environmental issues, men can also be members.

Campaigns

WSAEP has campaigned for better

air quality Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

since 2001, advocating for a reduction in the number of old cars on the road and a ban on cars to driven if they only have the driver in them. The Society organised demonstrations which also involved local children. Under the influence of Victoria Jamali, the Society has campaigned for western-style environmental laws. They also produce free educational resources, aiming to improve public awareness of the environmental challenges Iran faces. Working with women to create goods from recycled materials is another strand of WSAEP's work. The society emphasises the importance of women since they control what happens in households, where key decisions about recycling and pollution rest. WSAEP has also been instrumental in campaigning for a family-planning programme in Iran. The organisation publishes the journal ''فرياد زامين''(''Faryad-e-Zamin'' - Cry of the Earth), which is edited by Victoria Jamali. As of 2015, it had educated over 25,000 families in recycling and waste management. It established a young people's programme – the Earth's Fans Society – which provides environmental education in schools and kindergartens. They have worked with universities to ratify the inclusion of an optional course in environmental management in degrees, as well as providing training for civil servants in rural areas.

Awards

In 2016, the Isfahan WSAEP branch was awarded Iran's National Environmental Award.

Legacy

However, the work of WSAEP has been described as "non-threatening" to the government, despite their efficiency in the field they do campaign in.

References

{{Authority control Iranian environmentalists Women's organisations based in Iran Environmental organisations based in Iran Organizations established in 1993