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The Story of Iran's Women-Led Uprising
by Nilo Tabrizy, Fatemeh Jamalpour
Book Reviewed by:A moving exploration of the 2022 women-led protests in Iran, as told through the interwoven stories of two Iranian journalists.
In September 2022, a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jîna Amini, died after being beaten by police officers who arrested her for not adhering to the Islamic Republic's dress code. Her death galvanized thousands of Iranians – mostly women – who took to the streets in protest in one of the largest uprisings in the country in decades: the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement. Despite the threat of imprisonment or death for her work as a journalist covering political unrest, state repression, and grassroots activism in Iran—which has led to multiple interrogation sessions and arrests—Fatemeh Jamalpour joined the throngs of people fighting to topple Iran's religious extremist regime.
Across the globe, Nilo Tabrizy, who emigrated from Iran with her family and was raised in Canada, was covering the protests and state violence in Iran, knowing that spotlighting the women on the frontlines and the systemic injustice of the Iranian government meant she would not be able to safely return to Iran in the future.
Though they had met only once in person, Nilo and Fatemeh corresponded constantly, often through encrypted platforms in order to protect Fatemeh's privacy and security. As the protests continued to unfold, the sense of sisterhood they shared led them to embark on an effort to document the spirit and legacy of the movement, and the history, geopolitics, and influences that led to this point. At once deeply personal and assiduously reported, For the Sun After Long Nights offers two perspectives on what it means, as a journalist, to cover the stories that are closest to one's heart—both from the frontlines and from afar.
NILO
FOR STUDENTS. FOR THE FUTURE.
On September 26, 2022 , I got my first email from Fatemeh in nine months. She had just been summoned and interrogated by the Ministry of Intelligence, who had threatened her with two years of jail time for her journalism at the BBC that was critical of the regime. "I am not scared," Fatemeh wrote. "Something like hope is rising among us, hope for changes, for woman, life, freedom, for you visiting me in Tehran soon."
The last time I had heard from her was in 2021, when she was preparing to return to Iran after a stint in London and told me she was cutting off contact with me completely. "It's not safe to communicate with you. You won't hear from me. Take care, abji joon. Boos boos," she wrote, calling me abji, her sister, and sending digital kisses my way. She knew that her return meant that intelligence and security forces would snatch her up and start interrogating her about her work as a journalist abroad, which had become common practice for the ...
All in all, this is a gripping and highly engaging book. At times inspiring and uplifting, at others heartbreaking and shocking, it presents details and stories of Iran—its history and its people—often absent from Western media. It does not rely on dry facts and statistics. Instead, it tells the stories of real people, giving us not only their struggles and deaths but also their humanity: their names, their lives, what they loved. Nilo's style as she writes from outside Iran is sometimes detached and informative, other times emotional and personal, but always analytical. On the other hand, Fatemeh writes from within. Her voice is raw, angry, and powerful. Nevertheless, she cares deeply for the people she meets and interviews, and shows sensitivity when sharing their stories...continued
Full Review
(836 words)
(Reviewed by Sofia Chatzistefanou).
Marjan Kamali, bestselling author of The Lion Women of Tehran and The Stationery Shop
A powerful and moving chronicle of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising. Going far beyond news headlines, this extraordinary cross-continental collaboration bears witness to the many brave Iranian women who have fought for rights and the sisterhood that Gen Z will carry forth. It is a book that could be written only by two true lion women. Porochista Khakpour, author of Tehrangeles and Brown Album: Essays on Exile & Identity
For the Sun After Long Nights is the kind of fiercely intelligent and unapologetically intimate masterpiece our Iranian canon has long needed—narrative nonfiction storytelling at its finest! ... If you want to fully grasp Iran today, start here.
Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran had started taking significant steps to improve women's rights. Under Reza Pahlavi, many reforms were implemented, increasing women's access to education, work, and public life, while also protecting their freedoms in the private sphere. With the Family Protection Law (1967, 1975), for example, the minimum age of marriage was raised to 15 and later to 18, and women were granted rights in divorce and custody matters.
Women in Iran After the 1979 Revolution
During the 1979 revolution, many women participated in the protests, hoping that the revolution would accelerate what had already started. However, once in power, the new clerical regime revoked most of their gained rights. The Family ...
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