Iran Update - Disobedient Women

Breaking Down Patriarchy

Amy McPhie Allebest

History, Education, Society & Culture

4.9 • 654 Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 77 minutes

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Summary

Amy is joined by activists from I-WILL, a group dedicated to sharing the stories of Iranian women living under a patriarchal regime. These courageous women let us know how the situation in Iran has developed since the Women Life Freedom movement began, tell us about the incredible ways everyday women are resisting oppression, and let us know what listeners can do to help.

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Inspired by the “Woman Life Freedom” uprising which started in Iran against the Islamic Republic regime in September of 2022 following the brutal killing of an innocent Kurdish Iranian girl, Mahsa Jina Amini by government agents, the Iranian Women Institute for Life and Liberty (I-WILL) seeks to provide a platform to raise awareness about, and support, women who have been victims of gender apartheid and discrimination. Through advocacy, education, and community engagement, we aspire to foster a society where immigrant women are empowered to contribute fully, enriching the fabric of our global community with their strength and resilience.

We're honored to be joined by I-WILL activists Saghi Saghazadeh, Naseem Ghazanfari, Reina Rezaei, and Kelly O'Leary.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Breaking Down Patriarchy. I'm Amy McPhee, All the Best. When I think of women's courage and resilience in the face of violent patriarchy, the image that comes to my mind is the woman life freedom movement that took Iran by storm starting in September 22. People around the world watched in awe as Iranian women and their
0:24.8	allies risked their lives as they spoke out against their patriarchal government. In the years since,
0:31.5	I've often wondered how the situation in Iran has developed and how women are continuing to speak out. So I was thrilled to hear
0:40.2	from my friend Saagi Sagisade, who is a member of a group called I-Win, or Iranian women in
0:48.1	network, whose mission is empowering women through art. She's also a member of I Will, which is a group that helps women share
0:57.3	their stories. As they say at I Will, when a woman speaks, silence turns into resistance.
1:05.5	I met with Saki and some of her colleagues to hear about their incredibly inspiring ongoing work.
1:12.7	Please enjoy our conversation.
1:18.2	Welcome, everyone. I'm so, so excited and honored to have you on breaking down patriarchy today.
1:23.7	And I wonder if we can start off the episode by having you each introduce yourselves by
1:27.8	telling listeners who you are, your name, where you're from, and a little bit about the work you do
1:33.9	and what's brought you to do the work that you're doing today. Okay, I guess I'm going to start.
1:39.4	My name is Sari, Sarko Zabai. I was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. I was born during the war of Iran-Iraq. And I was raised in a
1:50.8	middle-over-class family in Iran. So I think I had a lot of privileges that a lot of people
1:57.4	saying age as me did not have probably. I study at one of the pretty well-known
2:06.4	universities in Iran, Tehran Polytechnic, and then I went to Europe to study for my master's
2:12.9	in PhD in biotechnology and material sciences, and then I came to the United States for a job.
2:20.6	And I lived for a few years in Boston and now I live in Minnesota.
2:26.4	And I think in sense of activism, I have been trying to do my best when it comes to women's rights, children's rights,
2:37.8	and also I have been spending some resources for animal rights.
2:42.9	It is very close to my heart and a lot of different instances that happens across the work.
2:48.7	I can relate because I have either seen stuff or heard
	...

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