The Other Side of Silence

320 pp., 6 x 9, 26 halftones, 1 map, notes, index

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-6999-1
Published: October 2022
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-1-4696-7000-3
Published: September 2022
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-6135-1
Published: September 2022

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When Mahnaz Afkhami picked up the phone in a New York hotel room early one morning in November 1978, she learned she could never go home again: she had been declared an apostate and enemy of the Iranian Revolution and was now on its death list. Afkhami, Iran's first minister for women's affairs, began to rebuild her life in the United States, becoming an architect of the women’s movement in the Global South. Along the way, she encountered familial, cultural, political, and organizational hurdles that threatened to derail her quest to empower women and change the very structure of human relations.

A skilled storyteller who has spent her life in two worlds, Mahnaz Afkhami shares her unexpected and meteoric rise from unassuming English professor to a champion of women's rights in Iran; the clash between Western feminists and those from the Global South; and the challenges of international women's rights work during the so-called war on terror. Her journey through exile shows what it takes to launch and sustain a worldwide grassroots movement: funding, an ever-expanding network, conferences, education, and decades of hard work requiring individuals and organizations to persevere despite ongoing wars, humanitarian disasters, and climate change. Told with humor, honesty, and compassion, Afkhami's remarkable story illuminates the possibility of bringing opportunity and choice to women across the world.

About the Author

Born in Kerman, Iran, Mahnaz Afkhami is the founder and president of Women’s Learning Partnership, executive director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies, and former minister for women's affairs in Iran. She lives and works in Bethesda, Maryland.
For more information about Mahnaz Afkhami, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"Afkhami’s complexities and passion make even the driest policy discussions captivating. The result is a thought-provoking addition to the international women’s rights shelf."—Publishers Weekly

"For more than 50 years, Afkhami has been a voice against injustice, violence, and oppression. She became the first and only minister of women’s affairs in Iran and later helped develop the Foundation for Iranian Studies, which has played a significant role in scholarship about Iran. She has been a leading figure in the international women’s movement and offers a valuable perspective on women’s lives in the Global South and on the internal politics of various women’s organizations, such as the Women’s Learning Partnership, for which she serves as founder and president . . . . Recommended."—CHOICE

"The publication of Mahnaz Afkhami’s memoir has turned out to be quite timely . . . . Afkhami is an engaging writer [whose memoir] illuminates an incredible depth of experience and offers an edifying example of the many complexities, constraints, and possibilities of local, regional, and transnational feminist organizing . . . . In looking back while remaining engaged and committed, Afkhami’s book is a valuable contribution to and account of both Iranian and transnational feminisms." —Catherine Z. Sameh, The Middle East Journal

"Mahnaz Afkhami is part of a line of singularly independent women who make their own way in the world but also leave a mark and inspire others. Her compelling and gripping narrative seamlessly weaves memoir, political events, and the trajectory of second-wave feminism. This is an outstanding book."—Valentine M. Moghadam, author of Modernizing Women: Gender and Social Change in the Middle East

"An honest and absorbing life story written with humor and passion. At this critical moment in history, Mahnaz Afkhami's memoir offers a much-needed road map for creating a global women's movement, based on five decades of experience working with women from around the world."—Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, former UN high commissioner on human rights, chair of the Council of Women World Leaders

"Mahnaz Afkhami has written a superb memoir about her life as a women's rights leader in Iran before and during the revolution and then, in exile, as a voice for women throughout the Muslim world. Her extraordinary heroism and dignity shine on every page."—Carl Gershman, founding president of the National Endowment for Democracy