The 2022 protests within Iran – easily identified by its central slogan of ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ – began after the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. They swiftly gripped the nation, with reports of protests in each of Iran’s thirty-one provinces. Months later as we enter 2023, the protests continue despite many efforts from the Islamic Republic of Iran to end them. To date, at least 18,000 people are reported to have been arrested, around 500 people killed, and, at the time of writing, four have been executed on charges related to the current protests.
Christ’s College will be welcoming two world-leading experts on the modern history of Iran to contextualise these events for us: Professor Abbas Amanat, William Graham Sumner Professor of History at Yale University and Director of the Yale Program in Iranian studies (attending virtually), and Professor Ali Ansari, Professor of Modern History, and Founding Director of the Institute for Iranian Studies, at the University of St Andrews (attending in person). Their talks will be followed by a panel discussion with the Master, Lord Simon McDonald of Salford, chaired by Dr Farbod Akhlaghi (JRF in Philosophy). The audience will be given the opportunity during this discussion to ask any questions they wish of our expert panel.
This is an academic event that aims to be accessible to and to inform members of the public. The event is free to attend and open to all members of the University of Cambridge community (staff, academic and non-academic, and students) and other interested members of the wider Cambridge community. Depending upon numbers, we also hope to hold a brief reception after the event to continue the discussion over refreshments.
As spaces are limited, we ask that, if you would like to attend, please book a space as soon as possible. To do so, please use the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/woman-life-freedom-contextualising-the-2022-iran-protests-tickets-502549788947