When Mahnaz Afkhami picked up the phone in a New York hotel room early one morning in November 1978, she learned she could never go home again: she had been declared an apostate and enemy of the Iranian Revolution and was now on its death list. Afkhami, Iran's first minister for women's affairs, began to rebuild her life in the United States, becoming an architect of the women's movement in the Global South. Along the way, she encountered familial, cultural, political, and organizational hurdles that threatened to derail her quest to empower women and change the very structure of human relations. A skilled storyteller who has spent her life in two worlds, Mahnaz Afkhami shares her unexpected and meteoric rise from unassuming English professor to a champion of women's rights in Iran; the clash between Western feminists and those from the Global South; and the challenges of international women's rights work during the so-called war on terror. Her journey through exile shows what it takes to launch and sustain a worldwide grassroots movement: funding, an ever-expanding network, conferences, education, and decades of hard work that require individuals and organizations to persevere despite ongoing wars, humanitarian disasters, and climate change. Told with humor, honesty, and compassion, Afkhami's remarkable story illuminates the possibility of bringing achievement and choice to women across the world.
Born in Kerman, Iran, Mahnaz Afkhami is the founder and president of Women's Learning Partnership, executive director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies, and former minister for women's affairs in Iran. She lives and works in Bethesda, Maryland.
Afkhami's complexities and passion make even the driest policy discussions captivating. The result is a thought-provoking addition to the international women's rights shelf."--Publishers Weekly For more than 50 years, Afkhami has been a voice against injustice, violence, and oppression. She became the first and only minister of women's affairs in Iran and later helped develop the Foundation for Iranian Studies, which has played a significant role in scholarship about Iran. She has been a leading figure in the international women's movement and offers a valuable perspective on women's lives in the Global South and on the internal politics of various women's organizations, such as the Women's Learning Partnership, for which she serves as founder and president . . . . Recommended."--CHOICE The publication of Mahnaz Afkhami's memoir has turned out to be quite timely . . . . Afkhami is an engaging writer [whose memoir] illuminates an incredible depth of experience and offers an edifying example of the many complexities, constraints, and possibilities of local, regional, and transnational feminist organizing . . . . In looking back while remaining engaged and committed, Afkhami's book is a valuable contribution to and account of both Iranian and transnational feminisms." --Catherine Z. Sameh, The Middle East Journal
