Contesting oppression: women's condition in Iran

“Contesting oppression: women and protest in Iran”

2nd of November 2022, 6 p.m.

Presentation:

The hijabs that thousands of Iranian women and girls have been burning as a sign of disobedience over the past few weeks and the protests spread after the death of Mahsa Amini, while she was under the custody of Iran’s morality police, symbolized the social and political oppression women have been living with for decades. In particular, protests led by women since Ms. Amini’s death  have persisted for weeks and have brought Iranians into the streets in dozens of cities to reveal the depth of their anger. Young schoolgirls have become more vocal in the fight to secure their fundamental rights against the largely patriarchal structures in the country. 

In this fight, it is clear how the power of totalitarian government is opposed to the power of remonstrations and freedom of association. However, this is an occasion to reflect more broadly upon the plight of women in Iran, the global isolation that the whole population is living particularly right now – also due to the lack of access to o one of the major tools of popular resistance, namely communications – and the economic effects of this situation. For this purpose, members of the Bocconi Academic Community, together with BLEST and MSc in Politics and Policy Analysis, organized this seminar to dissect what is happening in Iran, its causes, and its potential consequences for the country, the globe and, more importantly, women’s rights.

Seminar’s program:

18:00 Welcome addresses

o   Prof. Eleanor Spaventa, Professor of European Union Law at Bocconi Law School, and Director of BLEST (Bocconi Lab for European Studies)

o   Prof. Catherine De Vries, Dean of Diversity & Inclusion and Professor of Political Science at Bocconi University

18:10 Round table

Chair: Prof. Paola Mariani, Associate Professor of International Law at Bocconi University

o   Doct. Shirin Zakeri, Post. Doc. Research Associate, Sapienza University of Rome

o   Prof. Scott Williamson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Bocconi University

o   Prof. Graziella Romeo, Associate Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at Bocconi University