Azadeh N. Shahshahani is an American human rights attorney based in Atlanta. She is the legal and advocacy director for Project South. She previously served as president of the

National Lawyers Guild The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is a progressive public interest association of lawyers, law students, paralegals, jailhouse lawyers, law collective members, and other activist legal workers, in the United States. The group was founded in 193 ...

and director of the National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project for the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

(ACLU) of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Early life and education

Shahshahani was born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

a few days after the 1979

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

. She received her J.D. from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

, where she served as article editor for the ''

Michigan Journal of International Law The ''Michigan Journal of International Law'' is a triannual academic journal in international law published by the University of Michigan Press and the University of Michigan Law School. Established in 1979, it publishes articles in all fields of ...

''. Shahshahani also has a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in modern

Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

North African North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

studies from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Career

Shahshahani has worked for two decades in the U.S. South to protect the human rights of immigrant, Black, and Muslim communities. She is the author or editor of several human rights reports, including the report ''Imprisoned Justice: Inside Two Immigrant Detention Centers in Georgia''; the report ''Inside Atlanta's Immigration Cages'', which helped persuade the City of Atlanta to stop detaining immigrants for ICE at the city jail; as well as the 2020 Project South complaint that brought national and international attention to medical abuses against women's bodies at the Irwin County Detention Center. Shahshahani has also served as counsel in lawsuits on behalf of a deported U.S. citizen, a Muslim woman forced to remove her head covering at a courthouse, detained immigrants subjected to forced labor at the corporate-run Stewart Detention Center, immigrant women survivors of medical abuse at the Irwin County Detention Center, and many others who have suffered human rights violations. Shahshahani has served as a trial monitor in Turkey, an election monitor in Venezuela and Honduras, and as a member of the jury in people's tribunals on Mexico, the Philippines, and Brazil. She has appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to testify about medical abuse against migrant women at the Irwin County Detention Center. She has also participated in international fact-finding delegations to post-revolutionary Tunisia and Egypt as well as a delegation focused on the situation of Palestinian political prisoners. Shahshahani serves on the advisory council of the American Association of Jurists. She previously served as a board member of

Defending Rights & Dissent Defending Rights & Dissent (DRAD) is a national NFPO advocacy organization in the United States, dedicated to defending civil liberties, exposing government repression, and protecting the right of political dissent. DRAD was formed as the merger ...

. Shahshahani has appeared on

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live ...

and

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

; has been interviewed by

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

and

The World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

; and has been quoted by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'',

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'', and other outlets.

Writings

Shahshahani writes frequently for various national and international publications such as ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', ''The Guardian'', ''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

'', ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'', ''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', and ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' on a range of issues pertaining to immigrants' rights, discrimination and state surveillance targeting Muslim communities, and using the international human rights framework as a tool for liberation.

Awards and honors

Shahshahani is the recipient of the Shanara M. Gilbert Human Rights Award from the Society of American Law Teachers, the National Lawyers Guild Ernie Goodman Award, the Emory Law School Outstanding Leadership in the Public Interest Award, the

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

MLK Jr. Community Service Award, the US Human Rights Network Human Rights Movement Builder Award, the

American Immigration Lawyers Association The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), founded on October 14, 1946, is a voluntary bar association of over 15,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. AILA member attorneys represent U.S. families see ...

Advocacy Award, the ''

Fulton County Daily Report The ''Daily Report Online'', formerly referred to as the ''Fulton County Daily Report'', is a daily legal newspaper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1890, it covers Georgia legal and business news. Notable special edition ...

'' Distinguished Leader Award, and the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it one of the oldest American university law ...

Equal Justice Foundation Public Interest Practitioner Award, among others. She has also been recognized as an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

by the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University & the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, and as one of Atlanta's 500 Most Powerful Leaders by ''

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

'' magazine. In 2016, she was chosen by the ''Mundo Hispanico'' newspaper as a ''Personaje Destacado del Año'' (Outstanding Person of the Year) for defending the rights of immigrants in Georgia.''Mundo Hispanico'', issue #1316, October 6–12, 2016. In 2017, she was chosen by ''

Georgia Trend ''Georgia Trend'' (tagline: ''The Magazine of Georgia Business, Politics & Economic Development Since 1985'') is a monthly business magazine covering business and finance in Georgia. It was established in 1985 by Times Publishing Company, which pu ...

'' magazine as one of the 40 under 40 notable Georgians. Shahshahani served as the Spring 2025 Daynard Public Interest Law Fellow at the Northeastern University School of Law.

Public speaking

Shahshahani speaks frequently at law school and college campuses on topics ranging from movement lawyering to roots of forced migration, U.S. foreign policy, abolition of ICE prisons, and countering state surveillance and repression against Muslim communities, among others. Shahshahani gave the keynote speech at the 30th anniversary of the Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale Law School in 2024. She also delivered keynote speeches at the 2025 Emory Law School International Law Symposium and at the Spring Student Symposium at Brooklyn Law School in 2024. She also gave the keynote address for Peace and Justice week at Earlham College in 2019.

Bibliography

*"Cop Cities in a Militarized World". ''No Cop City, No Cop World: Lessons from the Movement''. 2025.
"From Atlanta to Kashmir, States Weaponize Counterterrorism Frameworks to Target Social Justice Movements"
''NYU Review of Law & Social Change''. 2025 (co-authored with Juilee Shivalkar).
"Bridging the Accountability Gap: A Call to Action for Migrants Subjected to Abuse in U.S. Custody"
''UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs''. 2024 (co-authored with Sarah Paoletti).
"Known Adversary”: The Targeting of the Immigrants’ Rights Movement in the Post-Trump Era"
''Emory Law Journal''. 2023 (co-authored with Chiraayu Gosrani).
"The International Criminal Court’s Arbitrary Exercise of Its Duties Under the Rome Statute to the Benefit of Western Global Supremacy"
''The Human Rights Brief''. 2023 (co-authored with Sofia Veronica Montez).
"Reparations Owed to the Survivors of the Global War on Terror"
''N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change''. 2023 (co-authored with Divya Babbula).
the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Muslim Ban: An Immigration System Built on Systemic Racism"
''Harvard Law & Policy Review''. 2023 (co-authored with Tina Al-khersan).
"Deploying International Law to Combat Forced Labor in Immigration Detention Centers"
''Georgetown Immigration Law Journal''. 2022 (co-authored with Kyleen Burke).
"Movement Lawyering: A Case Study in the U.S. South"
''Howard Human & Civil Rights Law Review''. 2020.
"Decolonizing Justice in Tunisia: From Transitional Justice to a People's Tribunal"
''

Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

''. 2019 (co-authored with Corinna Mullin and Nada Trigui).
"From Pelican Bay to Palestine: The Legal Normalization of Force-Feeding Hunger-Strikers"
'' Michigan Journal of Race & Law''. 2019 (co-authored with Priya Arvind Patel).
"Sanctuary Policies: Local Resistance in the Face of State Anti-Sanctuary Legislation"
'' City University of New York Law Review''. 2018 (co-authored with Amy Pont).
"Local Police Entanglement with Immigration Enforcement in Georgia"
''

Cardozo Law Review The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University in New York City. Founded in 1976 and now located on Fifth Avenue near Union Square in Lower Manhattan, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardo ...

de•novo'', 2017.
"No Papers? You Can't Have Water: A Critique of Localities' Denial of Utilities to Undocumented Immigrants"
'' Emory International Law Review'', 2017 (co-authored with Kathryn Madison).
"Indiscriminate Power: Racial Profiling and Surveillance Since 9/11"
'' University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change'', 2015 (co-authored with Carlos Torres and Tye Tavaras). *Immigration and Racial Profiling. ''Cultural Issues in Criminal Defense''. 3rd & 4th editions, August 2010 and June 2015.
"Challenging the Practice of Solitary Confinement in Immigration Detention in Georgia and Beyond"
''City University of New York Law Review'', 2014 (co-authored with Natasha El-Sergany).
"Shattered Dreams: An Analysis of the Georgia Board of Regents' Admissions Ban from a Constitutional and International Human Rights Perspective"
''

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

Race and Poverty Law Journal'', 2013 (co-authored with Chaka Washington).
"The legacy of US intervention and the Tunisian revolution: promises and challenges one year on"
''

Interface Interface or interfacing may refer to: Academic journals * ''Interface'' (journal), by the Electrochemical Society * '' Interface, Journal of Applied Linguistics'', now merged with ''ITL International Journal of Applied Linguistics'' * '' Inter ...

''. 4 (1): 67-101, May 2012 (co-authored with Corinna Mullin). *"Reflections on the Occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of September 11". ''Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts''. 4 (3) 2011. *"Reflections". ''Shifting Balance Sheets: Women's Stories of Naturalized Citizenship & Cultural Attachment''. July 1, 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahshahani, Azadeh N. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American lawyers American women lawyers Human rights lawyers American civil rights lawyers University of Michigan Law School alumni 21st-century American women