Shaparak Shajarizadeh () (born 1975) is an Iranian women's rights activist and a former

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

. She is also a member of women's committee of Iran Transition Council. Shajarizadeh is well known for her efforts in empowering

Women's rights in Iran During the late 20th and early 21st centuries in Iran, women's rights have been severely restricted, compared with those in most developed nations. The World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iran 140, out of 144 countries ...

and activism against Iran's contemporary compulsory hijab law. She possess anti-

headscarf A headscarf is a scarf covering most or all of the top of a person's, usually women's, hair and head, leaving the face uncovered. A headscarf is formed of a triangular cloth or a square cloth folded into a triangle, with which the head is cov ...

sentiments and also pioneered online campaigns such as "Girls of Revolution Street" and "White Wednesdays" as a part of the protests against compulsory hijab in an effort to encourage both men and women in Iran to post images in the social media platforms of themselves without wearing headscarves. She was arrested and imprisoned twice for defying Iran's laws about compulsory

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

laws.

Biography

Shajarizadeh was born and raised up in Iran. She spent most of her life in Iran until 2018. In July 2018, after facing sanctions and pressure, she fled to Turkey where she reunited with her son while her husband was in Iran during the time. She then migrated to Canada in 2018 where she is currently in exile and settled in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

with her husband and son. In July 2018, in her

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account she revealed that she left Iran due to ongoing violence against activists.

Activism

On 21 February 2018, she was arrested for protesting by removing a headscarf and waving it in a Gheytarieh street and eyewitnesses said that the police brutally attacked, beat and abused her from behind and took her in custody. The video clip which featured Shajarizadeh without the headscarf went viral in the social media and triggered online civil disobedience movements such as Girls of Revolution Street and White Wednesdays. She encouraged men and women to "post images on social media of themselves either wearing white or no headscarf to protest being forced to wear the hijab. She was charged with encouraging possible prostitution, initiating national propaganda against the

Government of Iran The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling State (polity), state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its Const ...

and national security. She was later released on bail in April 2018 after facing two months jail term. Again, on 1 May 2018, for repeatedly removing her headscarf in public, she was arrested along with her son and released within hours. She then fled Iran. In July 2018, she was sentenced in absentia to a total of 20 years in prison; 2 years in Qarchak Prison in addition to an 18-year suspended prison term. She also credited internationally acclaimed lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who also came in support of anti-compulsory hijab sentiments. In February 2020, she also called upon Iranian people to boycott the

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

and insisted that Iranians have lost faith on the politicians. She lives in exile in Canada and serves as a senior fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights along with Canadian women's rights advocate Irwin Cotler. Along with Canadian journalist Rima Elkouri, she has written an autobiography ''La Liberté n'est pas un crime'' (Freedom is not a crime).

Honours

In February 2020, she was conferred with the Geneva Summit International Women's Rights Award for 2020 by an international coalition of 25 human rights organisations for her efforts to maintain women's rights in Iran. She was included in the

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's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shajarizadeh, Shaparak 1975 births Living people Iranian women activists Iranian human rights activists Iranian prisoners and detainees Place of birth missing (living people)