Shadi Amin (; born 1964) is an Iranian writer and

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. She was forced to leave

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in early 1980s because of her political activities. Amin is currently living in exile in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Biography

Prior to leaving Iran, Amin had to hide her sexuality in public, though she had freedom to express herself in her own family. Amin was politically active starting in 1979, when she was only 14: she was against Khomeini's rule. She was one of the supporters and members of OIPFG. Eventually, she had to flee in 1983, traveling to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, through

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

to settle in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. She has researched gender discrimination, systematic oppression against women and the state of female

homosexuals Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

people in the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

publishing a book called ''Gender X'' with her findings. An English synthesis of her findings by Raha Bahreini has been published as well, entitled ''Diagnosing Identities, Wounding Bodies''. Amin has studied LGBT people in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and describes Turkey as a place where people from Iran can readily seek political asylum. She is a founding member of the Iranian Women's Network Association (SHABAKEH) and is currently one of the coordinators of the Iranian Lesbian Network (6Rang). As a coordinator for 6Rang, she comments on

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

recommendations for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

in Iran. She is also a co-founder of the organization Justice for Iran.

Activities and publications

Amin organized a protest in 2000 at a conference in

against the conservative backlash then occurring in Islamic State in Iran. As a member of the Berlin Exiled Women of Iran Against Fundamentalism (BEWIAF), she asked to open the conference with a moment of silence for victims of the Islamic Republic, while other members of BEWIAF opened up "the black chadors they were wearing, inside which were slogans against the meeting and the Islamic Republic." The act led to several members of audience attempting to stop the protestors and the police were called. Amin won the 2009 Hammed Shahidian Critical Feminist Paper Award jointly with Golrokh Jahangiri. The award was created in memory of Iranian feminist scholar and professor Hammed Shahidian of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and is used to award funds for critical examinations in studies of Middle Eastern women. Amin used her award to research political prisoners in Iran in the 1980s and study rape and sexual abuse, which she presented at the seminar ''The Political Prisoners, Beyond the Wall, the Word'' held in Toronto in 2011. In 2012, Amin was part of a panel with

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, speaking at an event before the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). In 2013, she participated in Turkey's

Gay Pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...

as it was the closest location to Iran where a Pride event was hosted. Amin took part in a panel with 6Rang at Istanbul Pride 2014, where she and others discussed forced sex changes that have taken place in Iran. She and Raha Bahreini spoke about these human rights violations against LGBTQ people in Iran at

Stockholm Pride Stockholm Pride (styled as STHLM Pride) is an annual LGBT pride festival held in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Since the start in 1998, Stockholm Pride has grown. In 2014, some 60,000 participated and 600,000 followed the parade at the stre ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 2014. She was quoted by ''

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 ...

'', saying, "In a democratic society, a sex-change operation is an option for transsexuals, but in Iran it's an obligation for their survival." Her selection and translation of

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

and

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde ( ; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, Intersectional feminism, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Bl ...

's articles were published in a book entitled ''Ghodrat va Lezzat'' (Power and Joy) which is one of the few Persian resources on compulsory heteronormativity and lesbian existence. She is the co-writer of ''Crime and Impunity; Sexual Torture of Women in Islamic Prisons''. Amin researched, did fieldwork and provided literature review for the publication on human rights violations against LGBT individuals in Iran, ''Patholigizing Identities, Paralyzing Bodies: Human rights Violations Against Gay Lesbian and Transgender People in Iran'' (2014).

Published works

* * * *

Documentary films

* 1995, Beijing Conference and Exiled Women * 2000, Exilopposition und Berliner Konferenz * 2012, Endless Nights of Women Prisoners * 2013, Final Moments (runner up in the documentary category for the 2014 Women's Voices Now (WVN) Film Festival.)

Awards

* 2009, Hammed Shahidian Critical Feminist Paper Award

References

External links

Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network

Iranian women's Network Association (SHABAKEH)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amin, Shadi 1964 births Iranian dissidents Iranian journalists Iranian women's rights activists Living people Iranian emigrants to Germany Iranian lesbian writers Iranian human rights activists Iranian LGBTQ rights activists Iranian LGBTQ journalists Iranian feminists Lesbian journalists Lesbian feminists Women civil rights activists