(Im)possibilities of transnational (feminist) solidarity: The Women, Life, Freedom Uprising in Iran

Who?: Dr Shabnam Holliday, University of Plymouth; Dr Sara Tafakori, University of Leeds; and Asma Abdi, University of Warwick. Chaired by: Professor Nicola Pratt, University of Warwick.

When?: Friday, 27^th January, 2pm – 4pm

Where?: H0.58 (Humanities Building)

Seeking to situate the ongoing wave of protests that broke out in Iran in response to the death of Jîna 'Mahsa' Amini in September 2022, this roundtable asks: What does (not) transnational solidarity look like within the context of the "Women, Life, Freedom" uprising in Iran? How does one engage in meaningful forms of solidarity in ways that are sensitive to the multiplicities of oppressions that impact people’s everyday lives in Iran at both local and global levels?

To answer these questions, the roundtable will engage in: investigating transnational feminist solidarity building and its complications within the uprising; contextualising the movement within the larger histories of feminist and women’s struggle in Iran; locating the struggle within the larger regional and global (geo)political and economic structures.

Through centring the voices of Iranian scholars dedicated to exploring identity, gender and resistance, as well as domestic and foreign policy in Iran, this roundtable offers the opportunity to challenge some of the predominant narratives that have emerged amongst policy practitioners and media outlets in the West.

This roundtable will be of interest to anyone studying transnational activism, gender politics, resistance movements in the Global South. It is open to everyone.

Organised by: Dr Sara Bamdad, Asma Abdi & Bronwen Mehta

Supported by: Warwick Doctoral College, the Centre for the Study of Women & Gender