Haleh Afshar
Encyclopedia
Haleh Afshar, Baroness Afshar OBE
(born 21 May 1944) is a British
professor
and a life peer
in the House of Lords
. She is a prominent Muslim feminist, and characterises herself as a Socialist and a Shi'a Muslim. Her background is in equal opportunities in Britain, and before that, land reform
and development
in Iran
, where she grew up, and journalism
in both countries.
in the late 1940s, where her father represented the government. Until she was fourteen, she had a nanny
who bathed and dressed her; at that point she read Jane Eyre
and began to realise her privilege and how dependent on others she was. She persuaded her parents to allow her to go to England, where she attended a boarding school
in Solihull
, initially speaking no English.
Whilst at college in Brighton Haleh won tickets to see The Beatles in a game of poker and even rode pillion on the motorcycle of Ranulph Fiennes
.
As an undergraduate at York she learned to cook (crediting "the sainted Delia
"). She had an agreement with her father that she would not have to marry while she was still studying, so she applied herself to her studies, completing a PhD
degree from the New Hall, Cambridge
. She worked as a journalist before and after her first degree. She returned to Iran in her late 20s, where she worked as a civil servant in the field of land reform
, and also as a journalist and gossip columnist.
In the end she married a New Zealander (the academic, Maurice Dodson) who would accept what she anticipated to be an international career. She initially thought motherhood was not for her
, considering it to be "de-skilling" and incredibly difficult in Britain, where the system did not allow a woman to be both a mother and a worker. She was seven months pregnant before she realised her condition, but now considers her two children to be "the best things I ever did in my life". She is a grandmother.
Afshar is the third generation of women not to veil; her maternal grandmother rejected the hijab
, and her maternal grandfather in the 1920s held the first party in Iran to which women were invited unveiled. Her family wanted to extend possibilities for women
, and Haleh Afshar was one of the first cohort of Iranian women to vote, feeling she was fulfilling her mother's wishes. Many of the people she grew up with were killed in the Iranian Revolution
. She thinks it would be unwise to return to her homeland, having criticised Ayatollah Khomeni's stance on women, saying it was unIslamic, and has been threatened because of this.
at the University of York
, England
and a visiting professor of Islamic law
at the Faculté Internationale de Droit Comparé (International Faculty of Comparative Law) at Robert Schuman University
in Strasbourg
, France
. Afshar serves on several bodies, notably the British Council
and the United Nations Association
, of which she is Honorary President of International Services. She was appointed to the board of the Women's National Commission
in September 2008. She has served as the Chair for the British Association of Middle Eastern Studies. Afshar is a founding member of the Muslims Women's Network. She has served on the Home Office
's working group
s, on "engaging with women" and "preventing extremism together".
She was appointed to the Order of the British Empire
in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of June 2005. for services to equal opportunities. On 18 October 2007 it was announced that she would be created a baron
ess and join the House of Lords
as a cross-bench peer
. She was formally introduced into the House of Lords on 11 December 2007, as Baroness Afshar of Heslington
in the County of North Yorkshire
.
In March 2009, she was named as one of the twenty most successful Muslim women in the UK on the Muslim Women Power List 2009. The list was a collaboration between the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Emel Magazine
and The Times
, to celebrate the achievements of Muslim women in the UK.
In April 2009, she was appointed an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 21 May 1944) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. She is a prominent Muslim feminist, and characterises herself as a Socialist and a Shi'a Muslim. Her background is in equal opportunities in Britain, and before that, land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
and development
Land development
Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...
in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, where she grew up, and journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
in both countries.
Life
She grew up in a privileged family in Iran, part of the establishment, with a father involved in academe and politics. The family moved to ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the late 1940s, where her father represented the government. Until she was fourteen, she had a nanny
Nanny
A nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...
who bathed and dressed her; at that point she read Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
and began to realise her privilege and how dependent on others she was. She persuaded her parents to allow her to go to England, where she attended a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
, initially speaking no English.
Whilst at college in Brighton Haleh won tickets to see The Beatles in a game of poker and even rode pillion on the motorcycle of Ranulph Fiennes
Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...
.
As an undergraduate at York she learned to cook (crediting "the sainted Delia
Delia Smith
Delia Smith CBE is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills. She is the UK's best-selling cookery author, with more than 21 million copies sold....
"). She had an agreement with her father that she would not have to marry while she was still studying, so she applied herself to her studies, completing a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree from the New Hall, Cambridge
New Hall, Cambridge
Murray Edwards College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It was founded as "New Hall" in 1954, at a time when Cambridge had the lowest proportion of women undergraduates of any university in the United Kingdom, and when only two other colleges admitted women...
. She worked as a journalist before and after her first degree. She returned to Iran in her late 20s, where she worked as a civil servant in the field of land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
, and also as a journalist and gossip columnist.
In the end she married a New Zealander (the academic, Maurice Dodson) who would accept what she anticipated to be an international career. She initially thought motherhood was not for her
Childfree
Childfree also known as "voluntary childlessness" is a form of childlessness. The term was coined in the English language late in the 20th century and is used to describe people who have made a personal decision not to have children. The term childfree also describes domestic and urban...
, considering it to be "de-skilling" and incredibly difficult in Britain, where the system did not allow a woman to be both a mother and a worker. She was seven months pregnant before she realised her condition, but now considers her two children to be "the best things I ever did in my life". She is a grandmother.
Afshar is the third generation of women not to veil; her maternal grandmother rejected the hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
, and her maternal grandfather in the 1920s held the first party in Iran to which women were invited unveiled. Her family wanted to extend possibilities for women
Women's rights movement in Iran
The Iranian women's movement is based on the Iranian women's social movement for women's rights. This movement first emerged some time after the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906...
, and Haleh Afshar was one of the first cohort of Iranian women to vote, feeling she was fulfilling her mother's wishes. Many of the people she grew up with were killed in the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
. She thinks it would be unwise to return to her homeland, having criticised Ayatollah Khomeni's stance on women, saying it was unIslamic, and has been threatened because of this.
Appointments
Haleh Afshar is a professor in politics and women's studiesWomen's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and a visiting professor of Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
at the Faculté Internationale de Droit Comparé (International Faculty of Comparative Law) at Robert Schuman University
Robert Schuman University
The Université Robert Schuman, also known as Strasbourg III or URS, was a university in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. In 2007, there were nearly 10,000 students enrolled at the university, including more than 1,500 foreign students. The university tended to teach and research in fields such as law,...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Afshar serves on several bodies, notably the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
and the United Nations Association
United Nations Association
The United Nations Associations are non-governmental organizations that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of a member state and the United Nations, raise public awareness of the UN and its work, promote the general goals of the UN and act as an advisory body...
, of which she is Honorary President of International Services. She was appointed to the board of the Women's National Commission
Women's National Commission
The Women's National Commission was a United Kingdom advisory non-departmental public body , it was set up in 1969 to advise government on women's views and to act as an umbrella body for UK-based women's groups in their dealings with government....
in September 2008. She has served as the Chair for the British Association of Middle Eastern Studies. Afshar is a founding member of the Muslims Women's Network. She has served on the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
's working group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...
s, on "engaging with women" and "preventing extremism together".
She was appointed to the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of June 2005. for services to equal opportunities. On 18 October 2007 it was announced that she would be created a baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
ess and join the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
as a cross-bench peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
. She was formally introduced into the House of Lords on 11 December 2007, as Baroness Afshar of Heslington
Heslington
Heslington is a suburban village and civil parish within the City of York, in North Yorkshire, England, south-east of the centre of York. Prior to 1974, it was a village in the Derwent Rural District, which was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire...
in the County of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
.
In March 2009, she was named as one of the twenty most successful Muslim women in the UK on the Muslim Women Power List 2009. The list was a collaboration between the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Emel Magazine
Emel magazine
Emel is a British lifestyle magazine that celebrates contemporary British Muslim culture. The magazine's name comes from the letters "M" and "L", which stand for "Muslim Life", and also resembles the Arabic word for "hope". Sarah Joseph, a Muslim convert, is the founder and current editor...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, to celebrate the achievements of Muslim women in the UK.
In April 2009, she was appointed an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences
Academy of Social Sciences
The Academy of Social Sciences is a research body in the UK. , the Academy was composed of over 450 Academicians and 32 Learned Societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors...
.
Works
Haleh Afshar has written extensively on Iran and Iranian politics both for academia and the media in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and South East Asia. Her books include Islam and Feminisms: An Iranian Case Study (Macmillan, 1998), and Islam and the Post Revolutionary State in Iran (Macmillan, 1994). She has also edited thirteen books on women and development.- Work and Ideology in the Third World. 1985.
- Iran, a Revolution in Turmoil: A Revolution in Turmoil. 1985.
- Women, State, and Ideology: Studies from Africa and Asia. 1987.
- Women, Poverty and Ideology in Asia: Contradictory Pressures, Uneasy Resolutions. 1989. (Co-Autorin: Bina Agarwal)
- Women, Development, and Survival in the Third World. 1991.
- Women in the Middle East: Perceptions, Realities, and Struggles for Liberation. 1993.
- The dynamics of "race" and gender: some feminist interventions. 1994
- Women and Politics in the Third World. 1996.
- Women and Empowerment: Illustrations from the Third World. 1998.
- Islam and Feminisms: An Iranian Case-Study. 1998.
- Globalization and Fragmentation in the Developing World. 1999.
Styles
- Ms Haleh Afshar (1944–?)
- Dr Haleh Afshar (?–?)
- Professor Haleh Afshar (?–2005)
- Professor Haleh Afshar OBE (2005–2007)
- The Rt. Hon. Professor The Baroness Afshar OBE (2007–)
External links
- University of York Post-War Reconstruction and Development Unit staff profile
- University of York staff profile
- Persian Mirror Biography of Haleh Afshar
- Biography on the Muslim Women Power List website
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20081228.shtmlInterview on Desert Island DiscsDesert Island DiscsDesert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
on BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, broadcast 28 December 2008] - Transcript of interview on BBC 'Belief' programme.
- Nouse.co.uk Haleh Afshar takes House of Lords peerage
- Naseeb.com interview, 2005
- ‘Peace and Reconstruction in the Middle East: Where are the Women?’ Lecture given at University of Oxford on 27 May 2009