Truthdigger of the Week: Homa Hoodfar, Expert on the World’s Muslim Women, Imprisoned in Iran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard detained the dual Canadian-Iranian citizen for allegedly fostering a “soft feminist revolution” and are denying her her rights and even medical treatment.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard detained the Canadian-Iranian dual citizen for allegedly fostering a “soft feminist revolution” and are denying her her rights and even medical treatment.
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Prof. Homa Hoodfar had traveled to Iran in February 2016 to visit family as well as to access the archives of the Iranian parliamentary library for an historical book project. Her detention by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is a clear violation of her right to academic freedom, a right that is also recognized by the Islamic Republic of Iran. For the past three months, the Counter Intelligence Unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has repeatedly sought to build a case against her, with no evidence presented thus far. The authorities have not specified the charges against Prof. Hoodfar. Throughout this entire ordeal Prof. Hoodfar’s health has drastically deteriorated, as she has been increasingly suffering from blackouts. Prof. Hoodfar suffers from a neurological condition (Myasthenia Gravis-MG) that requires specialized medical care and she suffered a minor stroke last year. Since her detention at Evin prison, where she is currently being held, she has been denied access to medical care and to her medications. In addition to her long tenure as Professor of Anthropology at Concordia University since 1991, Prof. Homa Hoodfar is also a member of numerous professional international academic associations. She has published extensively on diverse topics including poverty, development, women’s labor force and political participation, family law, and refugees in many different countries in the Middle East, Canada, and South Asia. She is known for highlighting Muslim women’s ability to realize their rights within an Islamic framework, and for her critique of essentializing Western stereotypes about veiling. It is not clear what charges the Counter Intelligence Unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard might bring against her. Any accusations against Prof. Hoodfar are undoubtedly based on a fundamental misinterpretation of the nature of her ethnographic research which has never been a threat to the Iranian regime. Instead, her arrest points to a renewed campaign to target and intimidate other scholars writing about Iran. As a concerned group of international academics and intellectuals, we respectfully call for the Iranian government to release Prof. Hoodfar immediately and unconditionally, and allow her to return home to continue her medical treatment. Prof. Hoodfar has a number of ongoing academic obligations in Canada, including graduate students who depend on her guidance to complete their degrees.While the Canadian government has stated it is in consistent contact with Hoodfar’s family and is working toward obtaining her release, the fact that Canada and Iran do not have a diplomatic relationship complicates matters. Hoodfar’s detention and indictment are an affront to academic freedom, as the petition notes, as well as a direct violation of her human rights. The fact that her health is also in jeopardy adds more urgency still to her release. In hopes of bringing light to the plight of an academic who has dedicated her life to changing perceptions about Muslim women the world over, Homa Hoodfar is our Truthdigger of the Week. Your support matters…
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