Assyeh Miraghaie

Iran

Despite 50 years of authoritarian rule by king and cleric, the people of Iran have not ceased their struggle for democracy and civil liberties. Women have always played a central role in Iranians’ efforts for a more open society: As women push their agendas in theocratic and political discourse, they open space for debate on all issues, allowing for reform. Assyeh Miraghaie, currently a visiting scholar at Boston University, is a trainer on women’s rights and civil society. She has educated and broadened the advocacy capacities of women, including government employees, across the country. A political scientist who specializes in Iranian women’s political status, Dr. Miraghaie has written numerous books, research reports, and articles on women’s political life and on the political history of her country. She has been a lecturer at Azad University and Alzahra University in Tehran. She holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in political science from Tehran University.

Dr. Miraghaie’s peace-building activities include:

• teaching workshops on the role of women in politics and civil society to grassroots women’s organizations in all of Iran’s 28 provinces;
• instructing female officials in Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture in gender-oriented planning and leading workshops on civil rights and women’s rights for trainers in the country’s Ministry of Education;
• authoring reading materials for workshops on civil rights for town and city councils throughout Iran;
• researching and drafting a background report on women’s role in the political process in Iran for the Women Waging Peace Policy Commission; and
• organizing and leading the scientific board for the National Conference on Women’s Rights in Iran’s Kurdistan province.

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