Lily Mazahery
Encyclopedia
Lily Mazahery is an Iranian-American
lawyer
, human rights activist, and an expert source on Iran
. She is principal of Mazahery Law Firm and the founder and president of Legal Rights Institute (LRI), an international non-governmental organization (NGO).
in 1999 and was admitted to the District of Columbia bar on December 2, 2002. Mazahery's practice primarily focuses on limmigration
law
and international
human rights
. She has also assisted individuals who have been victims of human rights violations in Iran
and other countries in North Africa
, the Middle East
, and Asia
. As a member of various international rights organizations, groups, and campaigns, Mazahery has been a strong advocate of equal rights
for women in Islamic countries, which include the abolishment of stoning
executions and honour killings.
Mazahery is a strong advocate of women's rights
and equal legal treatment of men and women in all cultures and societies. She has dedicated a substantial portion of her professional work to exposing violations of women's rights by oppressive regimes and saving the lives of women and girls who have been unjustly placed on death row
in Islamic countries. She was selected as a celebrity
judge for HAMSA's The "Dream Deferred" essay contest on Civil Rights
in the Middle East
along with world-renowned feminist Gloria Steinem
, and Dr. Azar Nafisi
, author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran
" and a professor at Johns Hopkins University
.
Mazahery has publicly opposed Islamic Law, Sharia
. She is also an opponent of stoning
for executions, which are carried out in certain countries that observe Sharia, including in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a speech delivered to members of the United States Congress
in 2006, Mazahery provided a description of stoning executions. In the same speech, Mazahery condemned Iran's government for committing a variety of inhumane acts against its own people, and called upon American lawmakers to take "immediate and concrete steps" that would force Iranian officials to permanently ban stoning executions.
In her most recent book, "One Can Make A Difference: Original stories by the Dalai Lama
, Paul McCartney
, Willie Nelson
, Dennis Kucinch, Russel Simmons
, Bridgitte Bardot and Dozens of Other Extraordinary
Indiv.iduals" PETA
founder and president, Ingrid Newkirk
, included a chapter on Mazahery's work on behalf of Iranian women who were persecuted based on their gender, including some who had been sentenced to execution by stoning on charges of adultery. In a November 2008 interview, Newkirk was asked whether she favored any particular essay over others in her new book. She responded with the following explanation:
, the former president of Iran. In 2006, she publicly opposed Khatami's speech at Harvard University
.
In September 2008, at the same time that Ahmadinejad was scheduled to speak at the United Nations
headquarters, Mazahery spoke as an expert source on Iran in a number of venues in New York
and Washington DC, including before a panel in the United States Congress
.
In Spring 2008, Mazahery helped Iranian dissident Ahmad Batebi
flee Iran for the U.S., where he was granted political asylum
.
Mazahery is well known for her effective utilization of technology
to communicate with and rescue political dissidents, activists, and opposition voices from Middle Eastern countries, particularly Iran
. She has led panels at the World Technology Summit in New York City
in 2009 and 2010 about the usage of technology to promote democracy
and human rights
by activists living under the rule of oppressive regimes.
Iranian-American
Iranian-Americans are Americans of Iranian ancestry or people possessing Iranian and American dual citizenship.Iranian-Americans are amongst the most highly educated groups in the United States...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, human rights activist, and an expert source on 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...
. She is principal of Mazahery Law Firm and the founder and president of Legal Rights Institute (LRI), an international non-governmental organization (NGO).
Overview
Mazahery received her Juris DoctorJuris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1999 and was admitted to the District of Columbia bar on December 2, 2002. Mazahery's practice primarily focuses on limmigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. She has also assisted individuals who have been victims of human rights violations 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...
and other countries in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. As a member of various international rights organizations, groups, and campaigns, Mazahery has been a strong advocate of equal rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
for women in Islamic countries, which include the abolishment of stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
executions and honour killings.
Mazahery is a strong advocate of women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
and equal legal treatment of men and women in all cultures and societies. She has dedicated a substantial portion of her professional work to exposing violations of women's rights by oppressive regimes and saving the lives of women and girls who have been unjustly placed on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
in Islamic countries. She was selected as a celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
judge for HAMSA's The "Dream Deferred" essay contest on Civil Rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
along with world-renowned feminist Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
, and Dr. Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi, born ca. 1947, is an Iranian academic and bestselling writer who has resided in the United States since 1997 when she emigrated from Iran. Her field is English language literature....
, author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books is a book by Iranian author and professor Azar Nafisi.Published in 2003, it has been on the New York Times bestseller list for over one hundred weeks and has been translated into thirty-two languages....
" and a professor at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
Mazahery has publicly opposed Islamic Law, Sharia
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...
. She is also an opponent of stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
for executions, which are carried out in certain countries that observe Sharia, including in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a speech delivered to members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 2006, Mazahery provided a description of stoning executions. In the same speech, Mazahery condemned Iran's government for committing a variety of inhumane acts against its own people, and called upon American lawmakers to take "immediate and concrete steps" that would force Iranian officials to permanently ban stoning executions.
In her most recent book, "One Can Make A Difference: Original stories by the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Dennis Kucinch, Russel Simmons
Russel Simmons
Russel Simmons is a co-founder of Yelp, Inc..He was previously an early employee of PayPal.- References :...
, Bridgitte Bardot and Dozens of Other Extraordinary
Extraordinary
Extraordinary may refer to:* The Extraordinary, an Australian television documentary series* ExtraOrdinary, an EP by Nizlopi* "Extraordinary" , a song by Mandy Moore...
Indiv.iduals" PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
founder and president, Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid Newkirk is a British-born animal rights activist and president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals , the world's largest animal rights organization...
, included a chapter on Mazahery's work on behalf of Iranian women who were persecuted based on their gender, including some who had been sentenced to execution by stoning on charges of adultery. In a November 2008 interview, Newkirk was asked whether she favored any particular essay over others in her new book. She responded with the following explanation:
I think the one by Lily Mazahery — an essay on Iranian womenIranian womenIranian women in this article refers to women of, or from, traditional Persian or modern Iranian culture.-Depictions and appearance:...
who are stoned to death or buried alive for being in the company of a man or even a boy and suspected of having had a sexual intercourse. She’s helping them enormously from her daily work in Washington, D.C. Instead of just going about her daily work, she has carved a lifeline for these women and literally tries her very best to save their lives with what she does.
Political Activism
Mazahery has publicly opposed Iran's clerical regime and Mohammad KhatamiMohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
, the former president of Iran. In 2006, she publicly opposed Khatami's speech at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
In September 2008, at the same time that Ahmadinejad was scheduled to speak at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
headquarters, Mazahery spoke as an expert source on Iran in a number of venues in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Washington DC, including before a panel in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
In Spring 2008, Mazahery helped Iranian dissident Ahmad Batebi
Ahmad Batebi
Ahmad Batebi is a former prisoner of conscience. During his studies at the University of Tehran he gained international fame for his appearance on the July 17, 1999 cover of The Economist magazine, holding up a shirt splattered with the blood of a fellow protester.The photo, which has been called...
flee Iran for the U.S., where he was granted political asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
.
Mazahery is well known for her effective utilization of technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
to communicate with and rescue political dissidents, activists, and opposition voices from Middle Eastern countries, particularly 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...
. She has led panels at the World Technology Summit in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 2009 and 2010 about the usage of technology to promote democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
by activists living under the rule of oppressive regimes.
Controversy
On September 15, 2011, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility, found that Mazahery had committed "multiple acts of dishonesty and even criminal conduct." The Hearing Committee concluded that Mazahery committed 23 violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct and that she should be disbarred.See also
- List of famous Persian women
- Persian women's movementPersian women's movementThis article is primarily about the women's movement. For information about women in Iranian/Persian culture, please see Iranian women..The Iranian women's movement involves the movement for women's rights and women's equality in Iran. The movement first emerged some time after the Iranian...
- Human rights in IranHuman rights in the Islamic Republic of IranThe state of human rights in Iran has been criticized both by Iranians and international human right activists, writers, and NGOs. The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission have condemned prior and ongoing abuses in Iran in published critiques and several resolutions.The...
External links
- charges against Lily Mazahery for ethics violations
- news report
- transcript of speech on human rights situation in Iran
- New York Times Article on Lily Mazahery and Ahmad Batebi
- law office listing
- Village Voice article
- UK Channel 4 News Video Clip on Ahmad Batebi and his human rights work with the help of his lawyer, Lily Mazahery
- Among first to report Delara Darabi's execution.
- First to report Roxana Saberi's release
- Conversation with Delara Darabi's father
- Quoted on new media
- Appearance at 2009 World Technology Summit
- Role in Ahmad Batebi's settling in USA
- Quoted at Sarah Palin's blog
- Quoted re: treatment of journalists in Iran
- Quoted re: human rights violations in Iran