From Serving in the White House to Storytelling in VR and NPR, Meet D.C.'s Most Influential Iranian-American Women

- From the Oval Office to the most powerful American boardrooms, Iranian-American women are among the most hardworking of this country's changemakers. On November 13th, The Iranian American Women Foundation (IAWF) will feature many of these women... -Davar Ardalan, Huffington Post - 11/7/16

Iranian President Appoints Another Woman To His Cabinet

- Iranian President Hassan Rohani has appointed a woman as a new vice president and to lead the country's Tourism and Cultural Heritage Ministry. In a statement on his website on November 5, Rohani said he was naming Zahra Ahmadipour to the new positions, becoming the third woman in his cabinet. - 11/7/16

IRAN: Pressured by Hardline Group and Revolutionary Guards, University Forces Former Political Prisoner out of Teaching Job

- Hengameh Shahidi, a former reformist journalist and political prisoner, has been fired from her teaching position at an Iranian university following threats of violence from a hardline conservative group and pressure from the Revolutionary Guards. - 11/1/16

Iranian-American Tackles Big Brother with Performance Art

- Advocacy, coupled with an interrogation of her cultural heritage, is at the soul of Persian-American artist Amy Khoshbin's video and performance art. She's currently in residence at Mana Contemporary, as part of Mana BSMT, the museum's collaborative hub supporting emerging artists, where her performative installation The Myth of Layla is on view through November 12. -Creators Project - 10/31/16

Iranian Political Prisoner Remains Jailed Two Years After Family Posts $362K Bail Amount

- Two years ago the family of political prisoner Maryam Akbari-Monfared posted an unusually high bail amount for her temporary release on furlough, but her husband says Iran's Intelligence Ministry is blocking her release from Evin Prison's Women's Ward, where she has been held since 2009. - 10/31/16

Call for Iran to Release Imprisoned British-Iranians Heats Up As Families and MPs Petition UK Government

- The petitions were delivered on October 24, 2016 with a letter co-signed by 117 Members of Parliament (MPs) and members of the House of Lords calling for the release of 77-year-old Kamal Foroughi, 37-year-old new mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and 50-year-old Roya Saberinejad Nobakht. - 10/30/16

Mother Who Founded Group Memorializing Massacred Iranian Political Prisoners of 1988 Summoned to Court After Flight Ban

- Mansoureh Behkish has been banned from leaving Iran and summoned to court for her role in founding the "Mothers of Laleh Park," also known as the "Mourning Mothers of Iran," a group formed by mothers whose children were killed in the Islamic Republic's massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988. - 10/30/16

Iranian women grabs 2nd victory at Asian Roller Skating Championships

- The national Iranian women's inline hockey team has captured its second victory in a row at the preliminary round of the 17th edition of Asian Roller Skating Championships in China, overcoming the strong South Korean side. - 10/28/16

Iran's Sareh Javanmardi receives Allianz Best Female Athlete of the Month for September

- Sareh Javanmardidomani has been voted by the public as the Allianz Best Female Athlete of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, completing a double victory for Iran as compatriot powerlifter Siamand Rahman received the Best Male honour last week. - 10/24/16

Iranian actor calls for famous actress in exile to be welcomed back

- Javad Hashemi, a famous Iranian actor who is best known for his blockbuster roles as a compassionate Basij soldier, has caused controversy by saying in a televised interview, "If I were in office in the Islamic Republic and [Golshifteh Farahani] said that she wanted to return, I would say 'come back.'" -Misha Zand, Al Monitor - 10/20/16

A political prisoner is challenging Iranian state impunity while serving a 15 year sentence

- Maryam Akbari Monfared is a political prisoner in Iran serving a 15 year sentence and is now taking the state judiciary to court for the unlawful execution of four of her siblings and the imprisonment of her mother, all of whom were political prisoners in the 1980s in Iran. Akbari Monfared, a mother of three, has another brother alive and he is also a political prisoner currently serving a 17-year sentence in Iran. - 10/19/16

Interview: Iranian Affairs Expert Sahar Nowrouzzadeh

- Sahar Nowrouzzadeh is an Iranian American with a distinguished career in foreign policy, having started her career in public service in 2005 at the United States Department of Defense as a Foreign Affairs Analyst and later becoming a Team Chief. Subsequently, she joined the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Affairs Officer and in 2014 began a two year rotation as the Director for Iran on the White House's National Security Council under President Obama... - 10/17/16

Iranian Lawmakers Call For Release Of Activist Narges Mohammadi

- A group of Iranian lawmakers have written an open letter to the head of the judiciary calling for the release of Narges Mohammadi, a journalist and activist who is serving a lengthy prison sentence. Mohammadi was arrested last year after launching a campaign to end the death penalty in Iran. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison in May for founding the movement, which was deemed to be an illegal splinter group. - 10/17/16

Iranian woman entrepreneur Soheila Pirmoradian to receive EBC*L Prize

- Iranian businesswoman Soheila Pirmoradian is amongst selectees who will be honored with European Business Competence* License) EBC*L Women Entrepreneur Awards, during a ceremony scheduled to be held in Paris on November 3. - 10/16/16

Iran's Fatemeh Moqimi nominated for Asia-Pacific Women Entrepreneur Award

- Iranian female entrepreneur Fatemeh Moqimi has been nominated for the Asia-Pacific Women Entrepreneur Award. Moqimi, who also holds a seat at Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA), was chosen by the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) Women Entrepreneurs Council (CWEC) to vie with other nominees for the award - 10/15/16

Women's sports in Iran after the Revolution

- Tonia Valioghli is a veteran Iranian swimmer, record holder and former member of Iran's National Team and is currently a competitive swimming coach in Germany. She is a physical education graduate from Iran and a sports commentator. Zamaneh Media spoke to her about the situation of women's sports in Iran before and after the Revolution and the recent controversy emerging in the sidelines of the Women's World Chess Championship set to be held in Tehran in February 2017. - 10/15/16

Prominent Iranian Rights Activist Narges Mohammadi Rejects Prison Sentence in Stinging Open Letter

- In an open letter from Evin Prison prominent human rights defender Narges Mohammadi has strongly rejected the Appeals Court's decision upholding her harsh prison sentence, describing it as a "tyrannical" way to silence her activism. - 10/15/16

Meet The Designer Who Survived 40 Lashes And Is Now On A Quest To Make Fashion Free

- Swimwear designer Tala Raassi has always loved fashion. However, for a girl growing up in war-torn Iran, dressing how she liked was forbidden. During her childhood and teenage years, Iran government imposed extreme regulations on a woman's dress code. Women were to be completely covered. Tala was only able to wear the trend-driven fashion she loved so much in the privacy of her own home. -Konbini - 10/14/16

Iran: Overturn Stadium Restrictions for Women

- The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) should cease awarding Iran the right to host FIVB international tournaments until the country ensures that female spectators can freely attend volleyball matches in the country, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Ary Graca, the sports federation's leader. Graca was re-elected as the FIVB's president at the sports federation's 35th World Congress this week in Buenos Aires. - 10/13/16

Know Your Street Art: In Memory Of

- The three women in the Clarion Alley mural In Memory Of are familiar to anyone steeped in Iranian literary history. Simin Daneshvar, Simin Behbahani, and Forough Farrokhzad are iconic figures in Iran, known for their poetry and fiction. -Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Weekly - 10/13/16

Iranian Child Bride Faces Death Penalty

- Human rights activists say an Iranian former child bride, whose execution was delayed while she was pregnant, could be executed in the coming days. Zeinab Sekaanvand, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, was convicted of killing her husband, whom she says beat her for months. - 10/12/16

Report Cites Child Marriage For Girls As Major Problem

- A new report using UN statistics estimates there are about 700 million girls around the world who were forced to get married before the age of 18. The Save the Children report -- issued on October 11 to mark International Day Of The Girl Child -- said a girl under 15 is forced into marriage every seven seconds and that many girls only 10 years of age are being forced to marry. - 10/11/16

Iran Rights Champion's Latest Prison Term Aimed At 'Instilling Fear,' Says Exiled Husband

- When Narges Mohammadi's activist husband resolved in 2012 to leave Iran to escape yet another jail sentence connected to his political activities, she stayed behind with their two children. "She believed she could be more effective inside the country," Taghi Rahmani, a political activist who had been in and out of Iranian prisons for two decades and had a conviction hanging over his head, said of his wife recently from Paris, where he has since been joined by their 9-year-old twins. -Golnaz Esfandiari - 10/10/16

Chess Grandmaster Khademalsharieh says World Championship is necessary for Iranian women

- After many of the highest-ranking female players have called for a boycott of the next year's world Chess Championships in Iran, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh said that the championship will help the Iranian women to participate in the most important event in the country for the first time. Khademalsharieh, 19, is an Iranian chess player who holds the titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). - 10/9/16

Iran's first female triathlete Shirin Gerami set to make history at Ironman Kona

- With her journey to the Ironman World Championship, Shirin Gerami aims to change the way women of Islamic faith approach-and are permitted to approach-sport, especially triathlon. -Brian Dessart, Sports Illustrated - 10/9/16

Your Boycott Won't Help Iranian Women

- Some international players are saying they don't want to wear head scarves, but they seem to be making this statement for Iranian women, too: Iranian women shouldn't have to do this, so we'll make a stink. But this kind of protest -- outsiders who think they know best -- is exactly the opposite of what most Iranian women want, and is at the heart of what's worst about policing how Muslim women dress. -Azadeh Moaveni, New York Times - 10/9/16

Iranian Women Athletes Excluded from Bodybuilding

- Head of Iran's Bodybuilding Federation announced that women bodybuilders and their four male coaches who arranged for them to participate in international competitions have been suspended. The federation adds that it will adhere to the ruling of the court in this matter. - 10/6/16

Calls for chess boycott over Iran's hijab laws

- Calls for a boycott of next year's Women's World Chess Championship in Tehran, in protest at Iran's strict hijab laws, have prompted a big debate inside Iran in both the official and social media. -BBC - 10/5/16

Zinat Daryaee: The Great Entrepreneur of Qeshm Island

- Walking at a pavilion near Goftegoo Park in western Tehran, the music of natives from southern Iran attracts all the visitors. The largest pavilion of Qeshm Island, part of Hormozgan Province, is run by a female entrepreneur, Zinat Daryaee. Zinat Daryaee, whose name means adornment of the sea, is really a jewel in the heart of Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf. - 10/4/16

My wife, imprisoned in Iran for six months and counting

- Today marks six months since my wife, Nazanin, was taken and put in an Iranian prison. It marks six months since Gabriella, our two-year-old daughter, had her passport confiscated so that she would be kept in Iran. Nazanin is a charity worker in the UK. Nazanin and Gabriella were in Iran on holiday, visiting Nazanin's parents. On April 3, while on their way home, Nazanin was arrested at the airport check-in desk. Since then it has been another world. -Richard Ratcliffe - 10/4/16

Susan Polgar: Women Chess Players Need To Respect 'Cultural Differences'

- World's top chess official Susan Polgar says that the women players need to respect 'cultural differences' after many of the highest-ranking female players have called for a boycott of the next year's world championships in Iran. They are going to boycott the competition after being told that they'd need to compete wearing hijabs. - 10/2/16

U.S., EU Call On Iran To Free Jailed Death Penalty Activist

- The United States and European Union on September 30 called on Iran to free Narges Mohammadi, a journalist and activist whose 16-year prison sentence was recently upheld by Iranian courts. - 10/1/16

Imprisoned Iranian Journalist Denied Knee Operation

- Imprisoned newspaper columnist Afarin Chitsaz urgently needs a knee operation, but the authorities have refused to allow her to be transferred to a hospital, according to her lawyer. - 10/1/16

Under the Shadow: feminist Iranian film is one of the best horrors of the year

- Under the Shadow, a horror set in 1988 Tehran and Iranian director Babak Anvari's first feature, took Sundance by storm. Out this week, it is not only one of the best horror films this year but also the newest feminist reading of the genre. -The Conversation - 9/30/16

Upholding 16-Year Prison Sentence of Iranian Political Prisoner Narges Mohammadi is Indefensible

- The upholding of the 16-year prison sentence against human rights defender Narges Mohammadi by Iran's Appeals Court for her peaceful work is cruel and indefensible, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a statement today. Mohammadi, winner of the 2011 Per Anger Prize for her activism in human rights, was arrested in 2009 - 9/29/16

'It's wonderful to be home,' Homa Hoodfar says after landing in Montreal

- Homa Hoodfar arrived in Montreal this morning to hugs and cheers after being detained in an Iranian prison since June. "It's wonderful to be home and united with family and friends again," Hoodfar said at a news conference at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, as she smiled and clutched the hand of her niece, Amanda Ghahremani. -CBC/Radio-Canada - 9/29/16

Iran Releases Canadian-Iranian Professor Detained on 'Security Charges'

- Iran says it has released a retired Canadian-Iranian professor, who had been detained on "security charges." A foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by the official IRNA news agency, said Homa Hoodfar was released on humanitarian grounds. - 9/26/16

Women in Iran defy fatwa by riding bikes in public

- Women in Iran have been posting photos on social media of themselves riding bicycles, defying a fatwa forbidding them from cycling in public. It had been understood women that could cycle as long as religious concerns were respected. But when asked recently, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, said women were not allowed to cycle in public or in the presence of strangers. -BBC - 9/22/16

Females outnumber males in 2016 university admissions in Iran

- As the final results for the Iranian university entrance exam, also known as Konkur, was announced, females who got admitted into the universities outnumbered males. According to Sanjesh Organization, an Iranian organization in charge of coordinating and administrating Konkur, 57 percent of those admitted into the universities are females. - 9/21/16

Lecture by Homa Sarshar at UC Davis - Incast and Outcast: Yesterday, Today, and Everyday A Story of Personal Experience

- Homa Sarshar is a published author, award-winning journalist, writer, media personality, philanthropist, and arts advocate. She is the author of four books and the editor of eleven other volumes, including five volumes of the Iranian Women's Studies Foundation Journal and four volumes of The History of Contemporary Iranian Jews. Herlatest book Sha'ban Jafari was the number one best seller Persian book in Iran and abroad in the year 2003. - 9/19/16

Pouran Derakhshandeh's "Hush, Girls Don't Scream" wins two awards in U.S.

- Iranian film 'Hush, Girls Don't Scream', by Pouran Derakhshandeh, won the Best Feature Film and Best Actor awards at the 12th Action on Film Festival held in Monrovia, California. - 9/18/16

Iranian Woman Archer Zahra Nemati Takes Paralympic Gold

- Iran won their second archery gold at Rio 2016 on Thursday (15 September), after Zahra Nemati claimed the women's individual recurve open title. "There was just a feeling that I had that I knew I was going to win today," Nemati said. "That's why I was very calm and relaxed. I just knew I could do it. - 9/16/16

Rio 2016 Paralympics: Iran's Sareh Javanmardi wins 2nd shooting gold medal

- Iranian female sports shooter Sareh Javanmardi has received a second gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. -On Wednesday, the 31-year-old sportswoman participated in P4 mixed 50-meter pistol SH1 competitions at the Olympic Shooting Center in the western Rio neighborhood of Deodoro. She racked up 189.5 points to claim the top position and finish as champion. - 9/15/16

Five-Year Prison Sentence for Dual National Woman Casts Shadow Over Iran's Opening to World

- The five-year prison sentence for Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, a dual citizen of Iran and the UK who has been inside Iranian prisons for the past five months, lacks any legal justification, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said in a statement today. The Campaign asked the Iranian government to immediately release Ms. Zaghari, as well as the other dual citizens imprisoned in similarly politicized cases. - 9/13/16

Iranian Women Stoke Surfing Revolution

- An intrepid group of women is riding the waves of change in deeply conservative Iran. "We said, 'Let's make a surf culture here and we can make it grow into a surf school and it can grow bigger and bigger and bigger,'" the 32-year-old events manager Mona Seraji told NBC News. "I was really into surfing my entire life. What could be better than that?" - 9/12/16

Rio 2016 Paralympics: Iran's Sareh Javanmardi Dodmani wins historic gold at women shooting event

- Javanmardi made history by becoming Iran's first ever female gold medallist in shooting para-sport winning the P2 (women's 10m air pistol SH1) event. "I am very happy that I could get the very first quota for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the very first gold medal for my delegation," said Javanmardi Dodmani. - 9/10/16

UK-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe 'jailed on secret charges'

- A British-Iranian mother has been jailed for five years in Iran on "secret charges", her husband says. Richard Ratcliffe said charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in April, had called him from prison and said: "I can't bear to be in this place any longer." -BBC - 9/10/16

Iranian Women's Cycling Barred by Law or Sharia?

- Tehran police forcefully dispersed a crowd of cyclists who had gathered in Tehran's Laleh park for a weekly gathering of the Tuesdays: No Car Day. On 6 Sept, Tehran police prevented green campaigners from holding a group ride in Tehran. Javad Heydariyan, reporting from Tehran says that the police's action were despite the fact that some government officials were also among the mixed gender crowd. - 9/8/16

Filmmaker Tahmineh Milani tries her hand at photography

- An exhibition of photos by Tahmineh Milani, the director of "Ceasefire" psychodrama, opened at Tehran's Aryana Gallery on Saturday. A number of actors and artists attended the opening ceremony, which was concurrent with the 56th birth anniversary of the director, who is also a graduate of architecture - 9/6/16

Making History: Seema Ghiassi Kennedy, Britain's First MP of Iranian Descent

- Seema Ghiassi Kennedy has earned herself a spot in the history books: she is the British Parliament's first member of Iranian descent, elected in May 2015 as the MP for South Ribble (in Lancashire, North West England). Though she left Iran at the tender age of four, her Persian roots are still a big part of who she is. -Kayhan London - 9/6/16

Women's cooperatives in Iran create some 119,000 jobs

- Some 119,000 Iranian female employees are working in women's cooperatives across the country, Vahideh Negin, an advisor to the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare said in Tehran on Friday. - 9/6/16

Interview with filmmaker Anahita Ghazvinizadeh

- I had the pleasure to sit down with Anahita, a vivacious yet calm spirit, who is eagerly gearing up to tell woven tales of childhood-adulthood transitions. I witnessed her as a person, an artist, and as a storyteller. Anahita herself if outspoken but not brazen, opinionated but soft, whimsical and playful, open-minded and open-hearted. -Misha Nasrollahzadeh, TheTehranTimes - 9/5/16

Jailed Canadian prof in Iran can 'hardly walk or talk,' say relatives

- After three months in solitary detention, the Canadian-Iranian university professor Homa Hoodfar's health has declined to the point that she can barely walk or talk, her relatives say. In a statement released Tuesday, the family of Prof. Hoodfar said the 65-year-old Concordia University anthropologist had to be hospitalized as her condition worsened since being held after June 6 at Tehran's Evin Prison. -Globe & Mail - 8/31/16

PHOTOS: Iran opens doors to women motorcyclists

- The Motorcycle and Automobile Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (MAFIRI) has allowed the Iranian women to take part at the motocross race. Mahmoud Seydanlou, the head of Iran's Motorcycle and Automobile Federation, paid tribute to the motorcyclists women at the Azadi complex motocross race in Tehran. - 8/30/16

Iranian-Belgian woman Raheleh Asemani shines at Rio 2016 Olympics

- Raheleh Asemani, a taekwondo practitioner who was representing Belgium in Rio 2016 Olympics, also came close to earning a medal in the Women's 57 kg taekwondo competitions. Asemani lost the contest for bronze medal to Hedaya Wahba of Egypt, while her countrywoman Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin won a bronze medal in the same weight category to become the first Iranian female Olympian. - 8/21/16

President Rouhani congratulates Iran's first female Olympic medalist

- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani extends his congratulation to taekwondo practitioner Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin for becoming the first Iranian female Olympian after winning the bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics Games. Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin received huge coverage by the Iranian media. Many newspapers covered the story prominently on their front pages. - 8/20/16

Taekwondo Player Kimia Alizadeh Is First Iranian Woman To Win Olympic Medal

- Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin claimed the first ever Olympic medal by an Iranian woman in Rio on Friday. Alizadeh, 18, defeated Sweden's Nikita Glasnovic 5-1 in the under-57kg division to win the historic medal. "I am so happy for Iranian girls because it is the first medal, and I hope at the next Olympics we will get a gold," said Alizadeh, who wears a head covering under her headguard. - 8/19/16

Preschool to PhDs: Iranian-American Women Discuss the Future of Education

- Join the Iranian American Women Foundation's Northern California Chapter as we hear from Iranian American women changing the field of education, from pre-K to college. Since 2010, the Iranian-American Women Foundation (IAWF) has set the stage to empower and inspire Iranian-American women of all ages and career paths through its nationally recognized annual Women's Leadership Conferences. - 8/18/16

Prominent Iranian Human Rights Activist Mehrangiz Kar to Teach at California State University, Northridge in the Fall

- The Iranian government has made it clear that it doesn't like what Mehrangiz Kar has to say about what is happening in Iran or how Islamic law impacts women. The prominent Iranian lawyer, writer and activist doesn't care. - 8/17/16

From Sa'dabad to Zanjan: First all-women car rally to be held in Iran

- The first women-only car rally in Iran will be held on August 23-28, it was announced at a press conference at Sa'dabad Palace in Tehran last week. The rally will start at Sa'dabad Tourism Complex in Tehran and will end in the city of Zanjan, passing through Iranian provinces of Alborz and Qazvin. - 8/16/16

Iran Olympic protest: Woman asked to take down sign

- A female Iranian activist who held a protest banner during a volleyball match at the Rio Olympics was asked to take it down and leave by security staff. Darya Safai's sign read: "Let Iranian women enter their stadiums." -BBC - 8/14/16

Iranian athletes fail to clinch medals at Rio 2016 Olympics's athletics competitions

- Iranian men and women athletes have demonstrated lackluster performances at the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and have fallen short to claim a single medal at the major international multi-sport event. - 8/13/16

This Iranian-Born Actress Is Changing the Acting World

- After graduating with honors in biology from the University of California, Irvine, Nazanin Boniadi swapped the security of a �medical career for her dream of becoming an actor. "Luckily, nine months after I made that decision, I got my SAG card," she says. She landed her first role as a nurse on the soap opera General Hospital: The Night Shift. -Nina Terrero, TIME - 8/12/16

Iran's Nemati Bows Out Of Rio Olympics But Urges Disabled To Compete

- Iranian archer Zahra Nemati, a disabled trailblazer who in one of many firsts was Iran's flag-bearer in the Rio Olympics, exited from the games on August 9 after a loss to Russia's Inna Stepanova. Nemati, who won the gold medal in archery at the London Paralympics in 2012, was quickly eliminated by Stepanova in a first-round encounter, leaving the Iranian shaken. - 8/10/16

Rio 2016 Olympics: Iranian rower says she lost by just few seconds

- Iranian female rower Mahsa Javar says she lost out her contest at the rowing events of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to globally distinguished athletes with just a few seconds' delay. - 8/10/16

Anti-Pollution Initiative Stymied by Ban on Women Riding Bicycles in Public

- Women's rights activists and environmentalists joined forces in the city of Marivan, in Iran's Kurdistan Province, after a local anti-pollution initiative encouraging people to ride bikes or walk instead of using their cars ran aground when security agents objected to women riding bicycles in public. - 8/9/16

The surprising women of Iran

- Cambridge photojournalist challenges perceptions of Iranian women in latest exhibit: Photojournalist Randy H. Goodman returned to Iran after 33 years to see how life has changed for women since her visits to the country to document the hostage crisis at the U.S. embassy and the Iran-Iraq War. -John Michael Baglione, Harvard - 8/9/16

Iranian Ritual Performer Aram Khalkhali Selected As Peace Ambassador Of MusicFestival Of Montignac

- Montignac festival was held from July 26 to July 31, 2016 in the town of Montignac, France. At the closing ceremony, Ms. Khalkhali delivered the Peace Message to the other groups and as the representative of the festival expressed the international great aspiration for Peace on Earth. - 8/7/16

Rio Olympics 2016: Iran's Elaheh Ahmadi earns sixth place in women's 10m air rifle

- Elaheh Ahmadi of Iran finished in sixth place, scoring 122.5 in the women's 10m air rifle on Saturday. "I worked hard for two years to earn my first Olympic medal but unfortunately finished in sixth place," Ahmadi said. - 8/7/16

'She lived her life to the fullest': Iranian woman who fought red tape to remain in Canada dies of cancer

- Fatemeh Kamkar, the Iranian woman who battled both cancer and bureaucratic red tape while earning her PhD in cellular and molecular medicine at the University of Ottawa, has died. -Ottawa Citizen - 8/5/16

British-Iranian Aid Worker Charged In Tehran's Revolutionary Court

- A British-Iranian aid worker detained since early April and accused of trying to overthrow Iran's government has appeared in Tehran's Revolutionary Court for the first time, her family said on August 2. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband, Richard Ratcliffe, dismissed accusations she sought a "soft toppling" of the government. - 8/3/16

I'll win a medal at the Olympics: Iranian woman shooter Elaheh Ahmadi

- "I've worked hard during the last couple of months and I think I'm completely ready to win my first Olympics medal. I've strong opponents who are all world champions but I've beat them in the past," Ahmadi said. - 8/3/16

Iranian-Swedish woman among winners of top European math prize

- Iranian-Swedish mathematician, Sara Zahedi, has been awarded a prominent prize by the European Mathematical Society. This is the top honor for young European mathematicians awarded once every four years, according to NPR. - 8/2/16

Iran's Rohani Orders Delay In State Recruitment Exams To Address Gender Quotas

- President Hassan Rohani has ordered the postponement of state recruitment exams for Iranians seeking government jobs, saying that gender quotas must be fixed and based on "justice." Rohani's order on July 31 followed Iranian media reports alleging that some of the 13 state bodies participating in the exam, which had been scheduled for September 6, have quotas that discriminate against women. -Golnaz Esfandiari - 8/2/16

Iran's Conservatives Lash Out at New Female Fashion Trends

- Iran's anti-vice squads, also referred to as the morality police, are particularly busy in the hot summer months when Iranian women wear lighter clothes and are less observant of the mandatory hijab. But this year the squads are focusing on a new "threat:" women wearing clothes with large English words on them. - 7/22/16