Category: News
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Defend Protests in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon
Farsi, Arabic and French translations below. Nationwide protests in Iran against a 50% fuel price hike over the last few days has seen widespread suppression by the Islamic regime of Iran’s security forces leaving at least 200 dead, hundreds injured and over a thousand arrested. The use of overwhelming force by security forces has been…
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Does religion have a privileged status in the UK?
By Rahila Gupta CNN, Wed November 20, 2019 Editor’s Note: Rahila Gupta is an author and journalist. She has written several books, including “Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong” and “Enslaved: The New British Slavery.” She has also served in the management committee of Southall Black Sisters since 1989. The opinions expressed in…
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Apostasy, Blasphemy and Free Expression
See video footage of a discussion on apostasy from Islam, blasphemy and free expression with the brilliant Sarah Haider and Shabana Rehman in Oslo at an event organised by Ateistene and Human-Etisk Forbund Norway.
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Maryam Namazie and Afsana Lachaux, Joint Winners of 2019 Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize
Maryam Namazie and Afsana Lachaux were joint winners of the 2019 Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize for their campaigning work in support of women under Sharia laws. The award recognised the links with Sharia and religious laws and violence against women. Afsana Lachaux has spent the past five years campaigning for women’s access to justice. After…
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Maryam Namazie on the freedom to choose.
By Souwie I met Maryam Namazie at the Celebrating Dissent festival in Amsterdam recently. As co-organiser of this unique gathering, it soon became clear that Maryam was seen by many of the participants as something of a mentor, even a mother figure. A veteran campaigner for human, especially women’s rights, Maryam, now 53, speaks with the eloquence…
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2019 Shortlist Announced, Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize, 3 October 2019
2019 Shortlist Announced, Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize, 3 October 2019 We have a fantastic shortlist for the inaugural joint Emma Humphreys and Centre for Women’s Justice awards. Please join us in congratulating all our nominees: Afsana Lachaux has spent the past five years campaigning for women’s access to justice. After having to flee Dubai, and whilst…
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Stand with the witches, heretics and blasphemers, sister-hood Interview with Maryam Namazie
Interview with Maryam Namazie, sister-hood Part 1: 10 September 2019 Part 2: 18 September 2019 Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born writer and activist. She is the Spokesperson for Fitnah – Movement for Women’s Liberation, One Law for All and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. She hosts a weekly television programme in Persian and English…
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De Balie #CelebratingDissent Festival was an Astounding Success
The epic ‘Celebrating Dissent’ Festival took place between 30 August -1 September in Amsterdam, a collaboration between the prestigious art and debate institute De Balie and Maryam Namazie. Consisting of a mixture of intense, probing conversations, comedy, art, poetry and dance performances, films, lectures and protest, the weekend was an education in the issues facing…
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Neither God nor Master – FEMEN Goddesses Series by Jenny Wenhammar
From Jenny Wenhammar Portrait Series on Femen Goddesses on display at De Balie #CelebratingDissent Festival in Amsterdam during 30 August – 1 September 2019. Here Jenny explains the portrait: Maryam Namazie has challenged the Islamist war on women’s bodies covering her naked body with the Islamist flag of Iran ripped apart. Exposing her breast instead…
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Epic Celebrating Dissent Festival in Amsterdam
Celebrating Dissent Festival during August 31 – September 1 in Amsterdam at De Balie will be a huge and historic event with nearly 50 contributors from 30 countries worldwide coming together to celebrate freedom through theatre, talks, poetry, film and stand-up comedy. The festival Celebrating Dissent honours freedom: freedom to think differently, freedom not to…