MESA Banner
Women Change-Makers: Social and Environmental Sustainability in Contemporary Iran
Abstract by Ayda Melika On Session IX-19  (Transformations in Gender Culture)

On Saturday, December 3 at 3:00 pm

2022 Annual Meeting

Abstract
This research aims to illuminate the essential role that women play in improving Iran’s social and environmental conditions. Examining the work of several prominent Iranian activists, I will argue that Iranian cities and communities are increasingly shaped by the participation of women in the realm of civil society. Environmental examples in this research include the work of Mahlagha Mallah, Iran’s eldest environmental activist and the founder of the first environmental NGO in the country; Shahindokht Sanati’s transformation of the agricultural fate of Kerman’s Lalehzaar region that replaced poppies with roses and opium with rosewater; Shirin Parsi’s innovations to promote sustainable farming and encourage others to refrain from using chemical pesticides and fertilizers to produce 100% organic rice; as well as the hard work of the ecologist Dr. Hayedeh Shirzadi to put an end to the burial of urban garbage in Iran and her success in making Kermanshah the first city in the country that recycles 100% and turns bio waste into organic fertilizers. Social change examples in this research include the work of Touran Mirhadi, known as the preeminent architect of childhood institution and the mother of modern education in Iran, who founded the Farhad School, the Children's Book Council, and the Encyclopedia for Young People and believed that peace must be cultivated at childhood; the life-saving work of Saideh Ghods, the founder of Mahak, Iran's most highly functioning and trusted charity, who also established a fully equipped hospital in Tehran that specializes in treating children with cancer; as well as the tireless work of the internationally acclaimed women’s rights activist, Nasrin Sotoudeh, who continues to strive for gender equality even as a political prisoner. Particularly focusing on the role of these activists in establishing and sustaining recent transformations in Iranian society, this paper illuminates the impactful and lasting work of women change-makers. Ultimately, I will argue that sustainable social and environmental change in Iran is best accomplished through bottom-up activism cultivated by women who have historically held a prominent position as teachers and promoters of ideas in Iranian culture.
Discipline
Sociology
Geographic Area
Iran
Sub Area
None