In this session, Asieh Amini will talk about her experiences as an Iranian poet, journalist, and human rights defender​. The conversation will address important questions and concerns around the role of feminism in Iran today. Amini will also refer to the different perspectives in Iranian feminism, focusing on past, present and future challenges and possibilities. The conversation will be facilitated by Libe García Zarranz (Dept. of Teacher Education, NTNU) and the session will be introduced by Stella Mililli, PhD Candidate in English in the Dept. of Teacher Education (NTNU). 

Asieh Amini is an Iranian poet, journalist, and human rights defender. She has a long-standing dedication to women’s rights. She founded some campaigns against executions in Iran, particularly around women’s and youth’s death penalty. Her work for human rights and the political situation in Iran forced Asieh to leave her land. She has been Trondheim’s ICORN guest writer (fribyforfatter) since 2010 and has continued her work here as a writer. She has three poetry collections (two of them in both Norwegian and Persian). Asieh has a Master’s Degree in Cultural Studies from NTNU. She has continued her struggle to spread the freedom of expression by serving in the Board of Norwegian PEN.

Libe García Zarranz is Associate Professor in Literature in English in the Dept. of Teacher Education at NTNU. She is a member of the international research project “Bodies in Transit 2: Difference and Indifference”. Libe teaches and researches at the intersection of feminist, queer, and transgender literature, theory, film, and visual art. Publications include the book TransCanadian Feminist Fictions: New Cross-Border Ethics (McGill-Queen’s UP, 2017).

This program is part of the series of events on feminisms including workshops, film screenings, public debates, and high school lectures organized by Literature for Inclusion (Literature House in Trondheim) and its partner, NTNU’s research project Sustainable Transnational Literacies: Ethics, Affect, Pedagogy (NTNU), led by Libe García Zarranz, Amanda Fayant, and Stella Mililli.

Everyone is welcome!