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Bilingual Lecture Series: Women’s Rights and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran

March 9 @ 11:30 am - 1:30 pm

زن در قانون اساسی ایران  

Women’s Rights and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Sunday, March 9, 2025 | 11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Zoom Registration:

https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pM3LdrXXSriCfDMGfzVg8w

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, ratified after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, stands as the country’s foun- dational legal framework, requiring all subsequent laws to align with its principles. The revolution itself was propelled by widespread calls for social and political reform, with significant factions advocating for democracy, human rights, and gender equality. Iranian women played a prominent role in this movement, underscoring the aspirations for a more inclu- sive and equitable society. While the constitution reflects these revolutionary demands by enumerating freedoms and rights modeled after Western constitutions, it also incorporates elements of Islamic jurisprudence. This duality emerged from the influence of conservative religious factions, who, after helping to overthrow the monarchy, swiftly consolidated power post-revolution. In this talk, I will examine the provisions within Iran’s constitution that pertain to women’s rights, focusing on how these provisions intersect with religious and secular legal systems. I will also explore the real-world impact on women’s personal and professional lives, highlighting the challenges of extreme gender-based oppression under the current system. Finally, I will discuss pathways for reform and envision how future constitutional efforts can avoid the missteps that have perpetuated inequality for over forty years.

About the Speaker

Pegah Banihashemi is currently a JSD candidate at the University of Chicago Law School, where she also completed an LL.M. in 2022. Pegah is currently working on the history of the formation of the Iranian Constitution both before and after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In this project, she will explore the problems of implementing the constitution in Iran. Part of Pegah’s project is dedicated to the issue of comparative comparison of constitutions among different countries. Pegah began her undergraduate studies focusing on French literature in Iran where reading the works of French philosophers and thinkers piqued her interest in the field of law. She completed a second Bachelor’s of Law, after which, she earned a Master’s and LL.M. in International Commercial Law and Private Law at Shahid Beheshti University, achieving a first rank and defending her thesis in international arbitration. In Britain, she worked on human rights research, commentary, and advocacy, focusing on death sentences, immigration law, and women’s and children’s rights in Middle Eastern and Sharia Law. She has worked extensively in the analysis of international law and international human rights and is a regular expert legal analyst with many global media outlets and non-profits. She has also taught several legal courses on topics including women, economics, and the law, human rights advocacy, and students’ and teachers’ rights.

Details

Date:
March 9
Time:
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
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