In exile from Iran

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On 16 January 1979, the Shah of Iran and his wife, Farah Pahlavi, left Iran for the last time. There had been increasingly violent protests against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's regime.

Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran on 1 February after 14 years of exile. Following a referendum, he declared an Islamic Republic on 1 April 1979.

In 1985, social scientist Rouhi Shafi, also left Iran and chose London as her home.

Lucy Williamson spoke to both women in 2010.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Official portrait of Empress Farah Pahlavi from 1979. Credit: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.
0:06.5	I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:11.1	I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,
0:16.0	relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.
0:22.4	So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,
0:28.3	and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience, and maybe that's you.
0:33.6	So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.
0:41.8	Music So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds. You're listening to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service.
0:47.2	In 2010, Lucy Williamson heard from two very different women living in exile after leaving Iran.
0:53.9	The former Empress Farah Pallavi fled with
0:56.2	her husband the Shah in 1979 after months of increasingly violent protests. Rui Shafi was one of those
1:04.1	celebrating after they left, but years later she had a change of heart and also decided to leave.
1:15.8	It's January 1979. the first wintry days of a new year.
1:20.4	And in the Iranian capital, the fury of revolution is building,
1:25.2	with protests against the king and slogans shouted into the frosty air.
1:30.3	Inside her house near the palace, Ruiz Shafey listens to the sounds of change and upheaval, buzzing back and forth across the city sky.
1:34.6	Just the roaring of these helicopters five, six times a day, coming and going to the airport and to
1:41.5	the palaces, to the airport, to the palaces, you know.
1:45.5	So what did you think was going on?
1:49.2	Well, all we thought is that they're taking the stuff out and they're leaving.
1:52.5	So this was our assumption at the time, you know. And we were on the streets all the time, you know, demonstrating against them.
1:57.2	Iran's queen, Farah Palavi, watched from inside the palace as the demonstrations grew.
	...

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