Azar Majedi

Azar Majedi (PerB| آذر ماجدی ) is an Iranian communist activist, Chairperson of "Organization for Women's Liberation" and one of the leaders of Worker-Communist Unity Party.

Biography

Azar Majedi was born in Iran. She finished her university education abroad and returned to Iran at the time of the revolution against the monarchy in 1978. She became active both politically and in defense of women’s rights while a university student.

Since 1978 she has devoted her life to fighting against the dictatorial regimes in Iran, first the monarchy and then Islamic Republic, fighting for freedom, equality, and women’s rights. She was active in the demonstrations to oppose the restrictions the Islamic Republic was imposing on women, organizing an International Women's Day celebration om March 8, 1979. She wrote and translated articles and pamphlets in defense of women’s rights.

In 1982 when the Islamic Republic had begun attacks against all the left and opposition groups, torturing and killing thousands, she and her husband were forced to escape from the security forces, and left for Kurdistan. Azar continued her activities, working in a clandestine left radio as a producer-broadcaster, working as a member of editorial board of a left journal.

Azar Majedi moved to Europe in 1984, where she continued her activities both as a women's rights activist and as a political activist against the Islamic Republic.

Career

She has worked with the International Campaign for the Defense of Women’s Rights in Iran. She co-founded the Center for Women and Socialism. She has published many articles in different journals. She has both organized and participated in different international conferences relating to women’s rights issues, political Islam, and wider political issues. She has worked in alternative media, being the editor of Medusa, a journal dealing with women’s issues. For 3 years from 1999-2002, she was the director of Radio International, a radio broadcasting into Iran, which can also be heard in Europe and on the internet.

Azar has written numerous articles on women’s issues, social and political questions. Many of her articles have been published in various international web sites. She has been interviewed by various international media, BBC, Voice of America, International Herald Tribune, and Time magazine.

She founded the "Organization for Women’s Liberation - Iran" in November 2002, and at present is acting as its chair. She has also founded Mansoor Hekmat foundation in July 2002. Azar produced and hosted several TV programs in Persian and English languages on New Channel TV, a satellite TV broadcasting into Iran. One of her programs was called "No to Political Islam". She also used to publish a journal called Reflections - political and personal.She has just published a book called Women's Rights vs. Political Islam. She was also nominated for the EMMA Humphrey Memorial Award 2007.

Azar lives in England with her 3 children.