June 24, 2026
Women on the Rise: Freedom, Dignity, and Human Rights with Zolal Habibi
On this empowering episode of the BFF Empowerment Podcast, host Blaque Diamond sits down with Zolal Habibi, an activist and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance, for a powerful and eye-opening conversation about freedom, democracy, and the fight against oppression.
Joining the show from Paris, France, Zolal shares her background, her involvement in the resistance movement, and the work being done to advocate for human rights and democratic change. She discusses the challenges faced by those living under authoritarian rule, the importance of giving people a voice, and the vision of creating a future where power belongs to the people.
This thought-provoking episode explores resilience, advocacy, leadership, and the courage it takes to stand up for justice. Whether you're passionate about human rights, global issues, or stories of individuals working to create meaningful change, this conversation offers valuable insight and inspiration.
Tune in as Blaque Diamond and Zola Habibi discuss activism, hope, and the ongoing pursuit of freedom and democracy.
If you would like to learn more or get involved, visit: https://wncri.org/
Follow Zolal on social media at: Zolal Habibi
Want to be spotlighted on the “Women on the Rise” segment of the BFF Empowerment Podcast? Send an interest email to bffempowerment@gmail.com
Visit www.bffempowermentpodcast.com to keep up-to-date on the latest happenings on the podcast.
Enjoyed this episode? Leave a review or rating on your favorite podcast platform of choice to help others discover their next favorite women’s empowerment podcast show.
WEBVTT
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You are bold, you are fearless, you are radiant
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It's time to unlock the diamond from within I
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am your host, Black Diamond. And with me today,
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I have the privilege of speaking to Ms. Zola
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Habibi. Thank you so much for joining me today.
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Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be
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with you. Yes, ma 'am. Do you mind telling the
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listeners a little bit about yourself before
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we jump right on in? Yeah, I am a, as you mentioned,
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my name is Zola Habibi. I am an activist in regards
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to... for freedom in Iran. But I've been active
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with the Iranian resistance for decades now.
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And I'm a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee
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of the National Council of Resistance of Iran,
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which is dedicated to being able to, I guess,
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overthrow the current regime and bring in freedom
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and democracy for the people of Iran, but also
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to be able to transfer. power to the people of
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Iran after, you know, decades and decades of
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living under tyrannical rule. Oh, wow. Okay.
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And are you currently located in Iran? Or are
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you stateside? No, well, I'm actually in Paris
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right now. I've never had the chance to go to
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Iran. I was born and raised in the US. And but
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right now I am based in France. Oh, OK. Oh, wow.
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OK. You're the second person I've had that lived
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in France. Oh, wow. I love France. It's so beautiful.
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All right. So how so you said for decades you've
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been into, you know, activism. And so is this
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something you've done as a child? Like, is that
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what inspired this or did you get into this as
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an adult? Well, I got introduced to the human
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rights situation in Iran from very early on,
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as my parents were both activists and my father
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was a prominent writer and a human rights activist.
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So I got introduced to the human rights situation
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in Iran from the onset, probably, and it was
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always part and parcel of my life. But when I
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was seven, my father was killed by the Iranian
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regime, and that changed. everything i guess
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you could say in my life and um but it wasn't
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just a turning point in my own personal life
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but also that summer the iranian regime had 30
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000 political prisoners executed in five six
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weeks and wow so um unfortunately before there
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was any kind of a international reaction to these
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massacres you know a whole generation was practically
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wiped out by the regime and um well having to
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grow up in those circumstances i guess just shaped
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who i became um understanding you know that this
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is the price that people pay for freedom and
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this isn't something that um is a given for everyone
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there are a lot of things that we just take for
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granted um that we have and um we don't cherish
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it as much as maybe we should but um i became
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i remember like for instance i was 12 i think
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the first time that um i started going to the
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u .s congress you know to try to um i guess inform
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members of congress about the situation in iran
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um it was actually about this time of the year
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i remember it was spring break and instead of
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you know going out and playing i was the one
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who was you know going to uh congress to try
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to raise awareness on human rights in iran so
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this was always uh a part of my life but um when
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the turning point for me was when i was 18 the
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summer after i graduated from high school um
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in july 1999 student uprisings broke out in iran
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and it was the first time that you know nationwide
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protests were forming after like over a decade
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so since the 1980s and so and it was the first
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time that was people from our generation who
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are coming to the streets and so that really
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changed a lot for me um and it you know um i
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started thinking like what is my responsibility
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here i mean i am living in safety and security
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um but what is my responsibility toward those
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who are living under these circumstances in iran
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and that was when i decided to um join the resistance
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i was actually i had gotten like a full scholarship
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to go to you know um college and i was going
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to pursue medicine but i guess that's the turning
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point for me um was then and i decided to join
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the resistance and stuff wow so give up going
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to medical school wow that is that is amazing
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um and it's definitely you know a right thing
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to do because yeah you want justice for people
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human rights and to protect you know the human
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rights of others so that is commendable oh wow
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all right so with You being a woman, have you
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encountered like any resistance to, you know,
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being an activist and fighting for the human
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rights of others? I know sometimes culturally
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women are not, you know, seen as, you know, I
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guess humans, you would say. So sometimes, yeah,
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trying to stand up for the rights of others,
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there may be some issues with that. Have you
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encountered any of that? Well, the fact that
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we are up against a misogynist regime really
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puts, you know, it's very different, I guess,
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when you're dealing with a misogynist regime
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like the regime in Iran, which is known for writing,
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you know, these misogynist laws into, I mean,
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these views into laws. So that is something that
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I think every Iranian deals with. But the reality
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is that in the Iranian resistance, I think one
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thing that sets this movement apart from many
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others is the fact that women actually play a
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very key role in both leadership and also in
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the fight. So actually for about 40 years now,
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the issue of women in leadership has been a very
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key position of this movement so for 41 years
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now the co -leader of this movement has been
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a woman and throughout these years we've seen
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this gaining more momentum in the movement like
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women empowerment and women in leadership and
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since 1993 for example the entire leadership
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council of the people's majority organization
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of Iran have been women and all the secretary
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generals since 1989 till now have been women
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so this is we see women as a force between in
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Iran yeah because they have been systematically
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suppressed so much there's so much hidden potential
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there and in fact we see that the emancipation
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of both men and women goes through having women
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in leadership and breaking those gender roles
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and also empowering women so that is like a core
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belief that we have we have and this is um you
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know the doctrine that has been set forth by
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mrs rajavi she is the president -elect of the
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national council of resistance everyone and she
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is um you know she is truly our one hope that
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we have for a free and um you know democratic
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iran um and she has led this progressive movement
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for for decades now she herself became an activist
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at the age of 19 when she was a student at shalif
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university and she has truly like the burden
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of this fight has been on her shoulder um at
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least for the past four decades and she has turned
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into a source of inspiration for generations
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i mean she was my role model when i decided to
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join this movement and um and um so yeah that
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is um um she has truly been a source of inspiration
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for many of us um and she has what she has done
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is she has actually taken the hand of women uh
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one by one and she has created like generations
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actually, not just one generation, but generations
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of female leaders, capable female leaders in
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this movement. And that's why you saw the role
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of women in the uprisings and the protests in
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Iran. I think everyone was in awe when they saw
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the role of women in 2022 and the uprisings in
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Iran after the death of Mahsa Jina Amini. But
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the reality is that that was something that was
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brewing for decades and coming together. And
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that was the, I guess, more extensive result
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of it or reaction to that. Okay. And who exactly
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is the person that you mentioned? Her name is,
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as I said, her name is Mariam Rajavi. She is
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the president -elect of the National Council
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of Resistance of Iran. She has been leading this
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movement and she is really the leader of this
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movement. She is based in France right now and
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she represents the fight for a secular democratic
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republic in Iran. Oh, I do apologize. I meant
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the person that you mentioned that died. Oh,
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Mahsa Jina Amini in 2022. She was a 22 -year
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-old girl who was unfortunately killed by the
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Iranian regime for malveiling when she was visiting
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Tehran with her family. And that became the spark
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of the nationwide uprisings in Iran in 2022.
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And she has become a symbol for, you know, the
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people of Iran. And she, you know, after her
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death, a nationwide uprising broke out in Iran,
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which lasted actually about nine months. And
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her memory still lives on and the message of
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her death. But yeah, she is truly one of the...
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one of those moments that will never be forgotten
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history of iran um so yeah wow and with the organization
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that you belong to are there different fractions
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of that organization like throughout the world
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or is it just based in france is it in the u
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.s or yes the national cancer resistance everyone
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has um representatives across you know around
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the girl around the globe actually it has over
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500 members 52 % of which are women and has like
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25 different committees and it is the Parliament
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in exile and it does have a US office and which
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is based in DC and it is very active there too
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and i mean the platform presented by this movement
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is very well known and also very well accepted
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in the international arena i mean over 4 000
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lawmakers have supported the 10 -point plan set
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forth by mrs rajavi for for the for free iran
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many have called it jeffersonian the majority
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of the u .s congress has supported it even in
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these very divided times um but um this is the
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one thing that everyone tends to to you know
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agree on and um like for instance over 130 former
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heads of state have supported it over 100 nobel
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laureates have supported this um 10 -point plan
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and um yeah that is what we plan to base the
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interim government after the fall of the regime
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on um until their elections held for to create
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the new constitution okay all right and with
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the work that you do so what exactly does it
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consist of um i mean depending on the times um
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there's a lot of changes but um breaking in the
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not you know ncrs foreign affairs committee it
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is mostly concentrated on trying to raise awareness
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um both among lawmakers um in different countries
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um in the public working with different ngos
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organizations um you know reaching out to the
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media but also like for instance um our youth
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activist chapters and um getting them active
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getting them getting them acquainted with the
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situation iran especially for the generations
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that you know um they've never actually had the
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chance to go to Iran or be in Iran they were
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born and raised abroad but they still feel strongly
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about you know Iran and they feel a responsibility
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to do something especially since now we see you
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know the role of the Gen Z of Iran in the uprisings
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and the protests and this is something that was
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seen in January uprisings that broke out and
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unfortunately the world saw you know thousands
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and thousands of people were killed on the streets
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many of them were under the age of 30 and um
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you know this is um something that continues
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unfortunately just in the last week the regime
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has had 10 political prisoners executed um one
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of them was as young as 18 years old oh wow and
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um so who was one of the protesters actually
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from the 10 people executed in the past week
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four of them were protesters who were detained
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in January and they were executed even in the
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midst of this war and everything that is happening
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in Iran right now wow that is so sad so um to
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any you know young girl that is listening to
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this that would want to take part and you know
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what advice would you give her how she can be
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involved or get involved well i think the first
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step um in getting involved is you know becoming
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more aware and informed but also raising awareness
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um but um so i think that is very key especially
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right now there's a lot of disinformation out
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there um there's a lot of you know manipulation
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and everything so it's very important to be you
00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:14.119
know, become informed. So take the time to inform
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yourself about what is going on. If you would
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like to learn more about, you know, the plight
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of women in Iran, there's wncri .org, which is
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from the Women's Committee of the National Council
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of Resistance of Iran. And it has a lot of great
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information about, you know, the situation and
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plight of women in Iran. To learn more about
00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:40.880
the movement itself, visit ncri .org. and actually
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ncr -iran .org or to learn more about Mayim Rajavi
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you could visit mayimrajavi4change .com and yeah
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if you would like to become more involved or
00:17:56.339 --> 00:17:58.859
engaged because there's right now as we speak
00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:01.599
there are a lot of different demonstrations rallies
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exhibits there's a lot of work being done on
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Capitol Hill If you would like to get involved,
00:18:07.849 --> 00:18:10.369
no matter where you are, there's the Organization
00:18:10.369 --> 00:18:13.529
of Iranian American Communities. Their website
00:18:13.529 --> 00:18:18.950
is oyac .org. And they have chapters in over
00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:24.349
40 states across the US. So you're probably covered
00:18:24.349 --> 00:18:26.750
there. And you can reach out to them and they
00:18:26.750 --> 00:18:30.130
will put you in contact with local chapters or
00:18:30.130 --> 00:18:34.869
the youth chapter that we have. And with becoming
00:18:34.869 --> 00:18:37.710
a part of this organization, do you have to be
00:18:37.710 --> 00:18:41.710
of Iranian descent or could it be anybody? No,
00:18:41.809 --> 00:18:44.650
there are a lot of people who are not Iranian,
00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:48.009
but they do want to help in regards to the human
00:18:48.009 --> 00:18:50.789
rights situation. And they're concerned about
00:18:50.789 --> 00:18:52.589
the plight of the people of Iran. And so they
00:18:52.589 --> 00:18:55.950
come and volunteer and help out in whatever way
00:18:55.950 --> 00:19:00.289
that they can. So it's open to everyone. Okay.
00:19:01.390 --> 00:19:03.930
Yeah, that sounds very interesting. Like to me,
00:19:03.950 --> 00:19:07.109
honestly, I hear and, you know, things on the
00:19:07.109 --> 00:19:09.869
news about what's going on in Iran. But to hear
00:19:09.869 --> 00:19:12.450
it firsthand from someone who's like kind of,
00:19:12.450 --> 00:19:15.430
I guess you would say knee deep in it is definitely
00:19:15.430 --> 00:19:20.069
different from what news is reporting and things
00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:24.009
like that. It's very disheartening, like just
00:19:24.009 --> 00:19:26.950
to think that we can't live in a world of peace.
00:19:27.130 --> 00:19:31.410
Like it's never. the wars never seem to stop
00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:34.650
or end like there's always some type and that's
00:19:34.650 --> 00:19:36.829
kind of why i don't like listening or watching
00:19:36.829 --> 00:19:40.049
the news because it's just always so depressing
00:19:40.049 --> 00:19:43.289
like there's always something bad going on somewhere
00:19:43.289 --> 00:19:48.269
yes there is but um i think it's very important
00:19:48.269 --> 00:19:52.970
to like your outlook on it um i think that each
00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:56.829
and every one of us can be agents of change and
00:19:56.829 --> 00:20:00.089
what's important is to when we see these situations
00:20:00.089 --> 00:20:03.730
to think like what can i do and um see our own
00:20:03.730 --> 00:20:05.910
role and what we can do because i think all of
00:20:05.910 --> 00:20:10.490
us can make an impact um and we shouldn't underestimate
00:20:10.490 --> 00:20:14.210
that impact that we can have oh yeah definitely
00:20:14.210 --> 00:20:16.470
i know that personally because there's several
00:20:16.470 --> 00:20:19.930
different things that i involve in i'm a person
00:20:19.930 --> 00:20:26.559
of service and community um so definitely it's
00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:30.039
just so much there's a lot that goes on like
00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:36.339
every day and it's just so sad like it is um
00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:40.019
and you're right i mean there's a lot of unfortunately
00:20:40.019 --> 00:20:44.539
pain and there's a lot of devastation but as
00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:48.059
i said i think that um there's a lot that we
00:20:48.059 --> 00:20:51.680
can do to create change too and we it's very
00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:55.119
easy to um due to the circumstances to really
00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:58.900
not see that and just give in to the circumstances
00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:03.259
but also there are these you know individuals
00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:05.640
that we see throughout history that they take
00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:08.779
they take it upon themselves to be that you know
00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:11.460
change that they want to see and they're able
00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:15.460
to make a you know major impact so um seeing
00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:17.859
that and understanding that i think that puts
00:21:17.859 --> 00:21:19.859
a lot of things into perspective and it's very
00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:24.529
important Yes, definitely. I've always been a
00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:26.670
person that says, yeah, be the change you want
00:21:26.670 --> 00:21:29.390
to see. Like you can't sit around waiting for
00:21:29.390 --> 00:21:33.069
things to change for you. You have to be that
00:21:33.069 --> 00:21:36.109
change that you're looking for. So yeah, involving
00:21:36.109 --> 00:21:40.069
yourself in organizations and situations that
00:21:40.069 --> 00:21:43.710
you feel called or led to be a part of is definitely
00:21:43.710 --> 00:21:50.210
important. Yeah, definitely. Especially when
00:21:50.210 --> 00:21:52.309
it comes to women's rights, because that's definitely
00:21:52.309 --> 00:21:55.809
women's empowerment is everything that I believe
00:21:55.809 --> 00:22:01.109
in and everything that I surround myself with
00:22:01.109 --> 00:22:04.569
due to being a woman who's been through a lot
00:22:04.569 --> 00:22:07.269
of trauma and a lot of just different experiences
00:22:07.269 --> 00:22:11.089
I've had in my life. So centering and involving
00:22:11.089 --> 00:22:14.690
myself in things related to lifting and rising
00:22:14.690 --> 00:22:20.160
women is basically. i feel like my purpose what
00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:23.359
i've been called to do and so that's why yeah
00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:25.980
i do what i do as far as this podcast and everything
00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:30.880
that i do outside of the podcast um is to help
00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:34.059
and and you know encourage and motivate and empower
00:22:34.059 --> 00:22:39.539
women to you know basically let their their their
00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:42.640
selves shine and let themselves be seen and heard
00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:46.259
and not just basically just remain silent like
00:22:46.650 --> 00:22:49.190
let themselves know that their voices matter.
00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:52.730
What they have to say matters. And, you know,
00:22:52.750 --> 00:22:58.369
not be afraid to voice, use their voice. Yes,
00:22:58.369 --> 00:23:01.630
exactly. I agree. I think it's very important
00:23:01.630 --> 00:23:05.549
to, you know, use your voice and to be the voice
00:23:05.549 --> 00:23:07.710
of, you know, I don't want to say the voices,
00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:10.109
but those who don't have the opportunity to be
00:23:10.109 --> 00:23:12.970
able to echo their own voice. And I think that
00:23:12.970 --> 00:23:16.170
we can all play that. uh role and take on that
00:23:16.170 --> 00:23:20.289
responsibility and i think that as you mentioned
00:23:20.289 --> 00:23:23.410
i think um women's empowerment is key to any
00:23:23.410 --> 00:23:28.289
democracy yes because it it's half of society
00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:31.910
and um it's really important for for women to
00:23:31.910 --> 00:23:34.950
be represented and i think that you could take
00:23:34.950 --> 00:23:42.980
tell a lot about its system um when you look
00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:46.859
at how they you know see the role of women or
00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:49.400
how women are treated in that society or in that
00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:52.619
system so i think that this is one of those pillars
00:23:52.619 --> 00:23:55.980
that's really important to address and concentrate
00:23:55.980 --> 00:24:02.359
on and to um be active on yes because it's something
00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:04.700
i've always just noticed and you know i've talked
00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:07.619
about this with other um guests or other people
00:24:07.619 --> 00:24:14.670
that We already have it hard as women being belittled
00:24:14.670 --> 00:24:18.549
and stuffed by men, but then to also turn around
00:24:18.549 --> 00:24:21.309
and go through the same thing with our own women.
00:24:21.569 --> 00:24:25.390
We have to stand together and lift each other
00:24:25.390 --> 00:24:29.730
up because there's a lot that we have to go through.
00:24:30.940 --> 00:24:33.480
instead of competing with each other and trying
00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:35.720
to tear each other down we need to come together
00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:39.259
so that we can the stronger we are together the
00:24:39.259 --> 00:24:41.839
stronger we'll be able to you know help to change
00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.960
the perspective of women and what we're capable
00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:49.819
of but i just noticed so much that yeah women
00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:53.220
they tear each other down instead of lifting
00:24:53.220 --> 00:24:57.960
each other up i think that that is also part
00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:02.039
of the um unfortunately the male dominant world
00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:05.319
that has been created in that culture and in
00:25:05.319 --> 00:25:07.700
fact that is one of the barriers that we have
00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:11.099
as a movement been able to overcome uh the fact
00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:15.279
that we have had women in leadership and uh women
00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:18.880
empowerment like systematically for three decades
00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:23.099
uh this is um first you have to overcome even
00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:30.869
your own um i guess disbeliefs and in regarding
00:25:30.869 --> 00:25:35.109
to like you know woman's power power and overcoming
00:25:35.109 --> 00:25:37.390
things and there's so many you know glass and
00:25:37.390 --> 00:25:43.109
ceilings that have been embedded i guess in every
00:25:43.109 --> 00:25:47.029
woman um by society and so it's very important
00:25:47.029 --> 00:25:49.230
to be able to put the you know understand those
00:25:49.230 --> 00:25:51.950
and be able to overcome them and um put them
00:25:51.950 --> 00:25:54.950
aside but um this is actually something that
00:25:54.950 --> 00:25:58.680
we have had you know great experience in but
00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:02.160
i also think that what we have experienced is
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:07.160
that this path is opened by you know paying a
00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:09.680
price for other women and putting them before
00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:13.400
yourself and that cycle of giving and that's
00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:17.279
like that is what actually creates a very strong
00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:23.420
bond and also it allows you know other women
00:26:23.420 --> 00:26:26.420
to flourish it's very important that you don't
00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:30.460
try to get there you know on your own um help
00:26:30.460 --> 00:26:33.759
others along the way and pull others you know
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.680
forward and i think that is a cycle that is like
00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:41.400
a never -ending cycle of giving and that that
00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:44.920
is what empowers us uh the most and that has
00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:47.380
been our personal experience in this movement
00:26:47.380 --> 00:26:53.039
yeah i would definitely have to say my for the
00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:58.160
first time i actually experienced seeing something
00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:01.160
that I guess I've never experienced so I'm a
00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:04.140
pageant title holder so my pageant title is Miss
00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:07.339
Altruistic 2025 and so that was my first time
00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:11.700
competing in a pageant but I noticed like on
00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:15.519
day like the pageant day you know we're all competing
00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:17.940
for a title you know we're competing against
00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:19.619
each other we're hoping that we're gonna win
00:27:19.619 --> 00:27:24.140
and walk away but it was like behind the scenes
00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:27.000
like we were all like encouraging these like
00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:30.559
it did not feel like a competition like it felt
00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.440
like we were all you know if someone was nervous
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.500
or someone was feeling you know doubting themselves
00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:39.160
or whatever like we were there like lifting each
00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:43.140
other up and like encouraging each other and
00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:45.849
motivating each other and it was just like it
00:27:45.849 --> 00:27:49.089
was so amazing to see that despite this being
00:27:49.089 --> 00:27:52.930
a competition, like it didn't feel like a competition.
00:27:53.029 --> 00:27:56.089
We were all there supporting and encouraging
00:27:56.089 --> 00:27:59.089
each other, even though, you know, everyone didn't
00:27:59.089 --> 00:28:01.690
walk away with the title, but that was like my
00:28:01.690 --> 00:28:05.069
first experience of seeing like a true sisterhood
00:28:05.069 --> 00:28:09.049
and seeing a true bond and, you know, just that
00:28:09.049 --> 00:28:14.220
willingness to let, you know, everybody shine
00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:17.359
and be a part of it, come together and not try
00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:20.500
to divide and, you know, conquer. It was just,
00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:22.599
you know, what do you need help with? What can
00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:24.759
I do to help you? What can I do to assist you?
00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:29.000
And it was like, it was beautiful. And I've actually
00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:36.140
never seen that before. Yes, I think that these
00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:40.880
experiences just help each one of us to be able
00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:44.049
to understand, like, we are the ones who create
00:28:44.049 --> 00:28:47.289
that create we can create that new culture of
00:28:47.289 --> 00:28:49.970
you know supporting one another instead of being
00:28:49.970 --> 00:28:53.410
in competition with one another or um i think
00:28:53.410 --> 00:28:58.369
you know these are things that we have the ability
00:28:58.369 --> 00:29:02.089
to change and um it has a ripple effect i mean
00:29:02.089 --> 00:29:05.450
once you you do that it creates like a whole
00:29:05.450 --> 00:29:08.690
you know cycle of others who will learn from
00:29:08.690 --> 00:29:10.710
it and they will also do that the same thing
00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:14.099
And I think that is what creates a lot of change
00:29:14.099 --> 00:29:19.859
in our society. Yes, definitely. All right. Is
00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:22.660
there anything else you would like to add or
00:29:22.660 --> 00:29:26.380
anything else you would like to mention? Well,
00:29:26.619 --> 00:29:30.759
right now, to be honest, one of the things due
00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:33.980
to the circumstances I would like to raise is
00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:36.700
right now is a very, very difficult time for
00:29:36.700 --> 00:29:39.980
the people of Iran. As we are speaking today.
00:29:40.730 --> 00:29:44.029
um it is hopefully the first day of ceasefire
00:29:44.029 --> 00:29:49.829
but this is after 39 days of war and um you know
00:29:49.829 --> 00:29:51.769
it's a very very critical time for the people
00:29:51.769 --> 00:29:54.829
of iran so anything that you can do to echo their
00:29:54.829 --> 00:29:57.089
voice and be their voice we greatly appreciate
00:29:57.089 --> 00:29:59.970
it the reality is that the people of iran we
00:29:59.970 --> 00:30:05.069
don't we see the solution being neither war nor
00:30:05.069 --> 00:30:07.569
appeasement but to support the people of iran
00:30:07.569 --> 00:30:09.430
and their resistance to be able to bring about
00:30:09.430 --> 00:30:13.579
change because the people of Iran want to move
00:30:13.579 --> 00:30:18.200
forward to build a secular democratic republic
00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:22.759
so putting behind them both the current theocracy
00:30:22.759 --> 00:30:25.460
that's ruling Iran but also they don't want to
00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:28.059
go back to the previous dictatorship which was
00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:31.579
a monarchy so it's very important to understand
00:30:31.579 --> 00:30:35.440
that and to be able to to support stand by the
00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:38.579
people of Iran in these very crucial times as
00:30:38.579 --> 00:30:41.519
they try to take their destiny into their own
00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:45.259
hands and to be able to you know overcome the
00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:51.599
the situation that we are dealing with um under
00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:55.440
the mullahs and but what's important is to know
00:30:55.440 --> 00:30:57.960
that there is a solution and that there is a
00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:02.019
viable alternative which is represented by the
00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:04.640
national council of resistance of iran and mrs
00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:08.539
mayim rajavi which for us is a true source of
00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:14.059
inspiration Wow, I love it. And can you mention
00:31:14.059 --> 00:31:18.339
again, the different websites that anyone who's
00:31:18.339 --> 00:31:21.440
interested in, you know, being a part in seeing
00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:24.039
what they can do to help where they can go to
00:31:24.039 --> 00:31:26.980
get more information? Yeah, sure. And I could
00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:29.500
also send them to you so you could add them to
00:31:29.500 --> 00:31:33.720
the notes, podcast notes. But to learn more about
00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:36.339
the situation of women in Iran, you could visit
00:31:36.339 --> 00:31:41.119
wncri .org. To learn more about the Iranian resistance,
00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:45.480
you could visit ncr -iran .org. And to learn
00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:47.599
more about Maryam Rajavi, the president -elect
00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:50.059
of the resistance and her viewpoints, because
00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:52.859
it's far more than just being the president of
00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:56.950
this movement, I think. her views on women's
00:31:56.950 --> 00:31:59.950
rights is something that's phenomenal and i think
00:31:59.950 --> 00:32:03.849
a lot of people can you know gain from that um
00:32:03.849 --> 00:32:07.609
you can learn more about that on mayamrajiv4change
00:32:07.609 --> 00:32:13.400
.com all right thank you so much And now we have
00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:16.539
come to my favorite part of the show where I
00:32:16.539 --> 00:32:18.480
like to play a little game called What Is She
00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:21.779
Thinking? So I will give you five random phrases.
00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:23.660
You'll tell me the first thing that comes to
00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:25.799
your mind. You don't have to think too hard about
00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:28.099
it. Just something fun to get to know you after
00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:47.420
a great conversation. Okay. All right. So your
00:32:47.420 --> 00:32:50.000
first one is going to be women's empowerment
00:32:50.000 --> 00:33:00.319
means. Women's empowerment means allowing women
00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:05.920
to take their role in society and being able
00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:11.569
to create their own future and to. be able to
00:33:11.569 --> 00:33:15.430
navigate what a equal society would look like.
00:33:15.829 --> 00:33:19.329
I think that women's empowerment is just key,
00:33:19.549 --> 00:33:24.450
as I said, for the emancipation of all human
00:33:24.450 --> 00:33:30.930
beings and to move forward our societies. I think
00:33:30.930 --> 00:33:34.390
women's empowerment is key for that. All right.
00:33:34.589 --> 00:33:36.910
So your next one is going to be, do you prefer
00:33:36.910 --> 00:33:48.339
dogs or cats? Cass. Cass. Okay. All right. So
00:33:48.339 --> 00:33:57.759
one word that describes your personality. That's
00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:08.400
a hard one. I guess driven. Driven. Okay. I like
00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:11.840
that. All right, so your next one is going to
00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:19.440
be garlic bread goes good with? Pasta. Pasta,
00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:25.239
okay. And your last one is going to be a woman
00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:31.619
has the right to? The right to decide her own
00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:41.139
destiny. Love it. that is so so so so true all
00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:45.739
right so is there any like social media um anything
00:34:45.739 --> 00:34:47.840
that you would like to share for listeners to
00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:50.500
be able to reach out to you websites of your
00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:53.380
personal um that you would like listeners to
00:34:53.380 --> 00:34:56.440
be able to contact you from um if anyone wants
00:34:56.440 --> 00:35:00.480
to contact me i am available on x instagram and
00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:03.519
linkedin um the easiest way to find me is probably
00:35:04.400 --> 00:35:08.260
searching my name but um yeah i'd be more than
00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:11.119
happy to respond to anyone who wants to reach
00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:14.679
out thank you for this opportunity you are so
00:35:14.679 --> 00:35:16.940
welcome and thank you everyone for listening
00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:21.130
don't forget to visit the podcast On our website
00:35:21.130 --> 00:35:25.210
at BFFEmpowermentPodcast .com to keep up with
00:35:25.210 --> 00:35:27.769
the latest and greatest on what's going on with
00:35:27.769 --> 00:35:32.449
the podcast. Also visit us on all of our social
00:35:32.449 --> 00:35:36.329
media. We are on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,
00:35:36.710 --> 00:35:41.849
YouTube, and also threads at BFFEmpowermentPodcast.
00:35:42.760 --> 00:35:46.019
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review
00:35:46.019 --> 00:35:49.280
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to bffempowerment at gmail .com. And until next
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time, guys, thank you so much for listening.
00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:35.500
Good girl
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You are bold, you are fearless, you are radiant
00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:49.539
It's time to unlock the diamond from within I
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am your host, Black Diamond. And with me today,
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I have the privilege of speaking to Ms. Zola
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Habibi. Thank you so much for joining me today.
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Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be
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with you. Yes, ma 'am. Do you mind telling the
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listeners a little bit about yourself before
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we jump right on in? Yeah, I am a, as you mentioned,
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my name is Zola Habibi. I am an activist in regards
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to... for freedom in Iran. But I've been active
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with the Iranian resistance for decades now.
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And I'm a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee
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of the National Council of Resistance of Iran,
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which is dedicated to being able to, I guess,
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overthrow the current regime and bring in freedom
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and democracy for the people of Iran, but also
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to be able to transfer. power to the people of
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Iran after, you know, decades and decades of
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living under tyrannical rule. Oh, wow. Okay.
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And are you currently located in Iran? Or are
00:02:00.260 --> 00:02:04.379
you stateside? No, well, I'm actually in Paris
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right now. I've never had the chance to go to
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Iran. I was born and raised in the US. And but
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right now I am based in France. Oh, OK. Oh, wow.
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OK. You're the second person I've had that lived
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in France. Oh, wow. I love France. It's so beautiful.
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All right. So how so you said for decades you've
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been into, you know, activism. And so is this
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something you've done as a child? Like, is that
00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:38.849
what inspired this or did you get into this as
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an adult? Well, I got introduced to the human
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rights situation in Iran from very early on,
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as my parents were both activists and my father
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was a prominent writer and a human rights activist.
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So I got introduced to the human rights situation
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in Iran from the onset, probably, and it was
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always part and parcel of my life. But when I
00:03:03.500 --> 00:03:07.020
was seven, my father was killed by the Iranian
00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:10.860
regime, and that changed. everything i guess
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you could say in my life and um but it wasn't
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just a turning point in my own personal life
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but also that summer the iranian regime had 30
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000 political prisoners executed in five six
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weeks and wow so um unfortunately before there
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was any kind of a international reaction to these
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massacres you know a whole generation was practically
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wiped out by the regime and um well having to
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grow up in those circumstances i guess just shaped
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who i became um understanding you know that this
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is the price that people pay for freedom and
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this isn't something that um is a given for everyone
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there are a lot of things that we just take for
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granted um that we have and um we don't cherish
00:04:03.780 --> 00:04:08.270
it as much as maybe we should but um i became
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i remember like for instance i was 12 i think
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the first time that um i started going to the
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u .s congress you know to try to um i guess inform
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members of congress about the situation in iran
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um it was actually about this time of the year
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i remember it was spring break and instead of
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you know going out and playing i was the one
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who was you know going to uh congress to try
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to raise awareness on human rights in iran so
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this was always uh a part of my life but um when
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the turning point for me was when i was 18 the
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summer after i graduated from high school um
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in july 1999 student uprisings broke out in iran
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and it was the first time that you know nationwide
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protests were forming after like over a decade
00:05:04.589 --> 00:05:08.449
so since the 1980s and so and it was the first
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time that was people from our generation who
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are coming to the streets and so that really
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changed a lot for me um and it you know um i
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started thinking like what is my responsibility
00:05:20.029 --> 00:05:24.689
here i mean i am living in safety and security
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um but what is my responsibility toward those
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who are living under these circumstances in iran
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and that was when i decided to um join the resistance
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i was actually i had gotten like a full scholarship
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to go to you know um college and i was going
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to pursue medicine but i guess that's the turning
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point for me um was then and i decided to join
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the resistance and stuff wow so give up going
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to medical school wow that is that is amazing
00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:03.600
um and it's definitely you know a right thing
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to do because yeah you want justice for people
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human rights and to protect you know the human
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rights of others so that is commendable oh wow
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all right so with You being a woman, have you
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encountered like any resistance to, you know,
00:06:27.860 --> 00:06:29.939
being an activist and fighting for the human
00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:32.759
rights of others? I know sometimes culturally
00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:38.379
women are not, you know, seen as, you know, I
00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:42.959
guess humans, you would say. So sometimes, yeah,
00:06:43.019 --> 00:06:45.300
trying to stand up for the rights of others,
00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:47.660
there may be some issues with that. Have you
00:06:47.660 --> 00:06:52.100
encountered any of that? Well, the fact that
00:06:52.100 --> 00:06:56.360
we are up against a misogynist regime really
00:06:56.360 --> 00:07:00.699
puts, you know, it's very different, I guess,
00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:03.000
when you're dealing with a misogynist regime
00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:06.319
like the regime in Iran, which is known for writing,
00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:12.259
you know, these misogynist laws into, I mean,
00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:16.279
these views into laws. So that is something that
00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:19.459
I think every Iranian deals with. But the reality
00:07:19.459 --> 00:07:22.879
is that in the Iranian resistance, I think one
00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:27.180
thing that sets this movement apart from many
00:07:27.180 --> 00:07:30.860
others is the fact that women actually play a
00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:36.740
very key role in both leadership and also in
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the fight. So actually for about 40 years now,
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the issue of women in leadership has been a very
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key position of this movement so for 41 years
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now the co -leader of this movement has been
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a woman and throughout these years we've seen
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this gaining more momentum in the movement like
00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:07.120
women empowerment and women in leadership and
00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:12.720
since 1993 for example the entire leadership
00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:15.970
council of the people's majority organization
00:08:15.970 --> 00:08:18.709
of Iran have been women and all the secretary
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generals since 1989 till now have been women
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so this is we see women as a force between in
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Iran yeah because they have been systematically
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suppressed so much there's so much hidden potential
00:08:31.750 --> 00:08:37.049
there and in fact we see that the emancipation
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of both men and women goes through having women
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in leadership and breaking those gender roles
00:08:45.429 --> 00:08:49.830
and also empowering women so that is like a core
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belief that we have we have and this is um you
00:08:54.149 --> 00:08:56.389
know the doctrine that has been set forth by
00:08:56.389 --> 00:08:59.250
mrs rajavi she is the president -elect of the
00:08:59.250 --> 00:09:03.149
national council of resistance everyone and she
00:09:03.149 --> 00:09:08.470
is um you know she is truly our one hope that
00:09:08.470 --> 00:09:12.519
we have for a free and um you know democratic
00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:16.899
iran um and she has led this progressive movement
00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:21.740
for for decades now she herself became an activist
00:09:21.740 --> 00:09:25.299
at the age of 19 when she was a student at shalif
00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:31.100
university and she has truly like the burden
00:09:31.100 --> 00:09:34.600
of this fight has been on her shoulder um at
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least for the past four decades and she has turned
00:09:38.419 --> 00:09:42.039
into a source of inspiration for generations
00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:45.720
i mean she was my role model when i decided to
00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:52.919
join this movement and um and um so yeah that
00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:59.320
is um um she has truly been a source of inspiration
00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:03.860
for many of us um and she has what she has done
00:10:03.860 --> 00:10:07.460
is she has actually taken the hand of women uh
00:10:07.460 --> 00:10:11.559
one by one and she has created like generations
00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:15.000
actually, not just one generation, but generations
00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:18.360
of female leaders, capable female leaders in
00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:21.200
this movement. And that's why you saw the role
00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:24.139
of women in the uprisings and the protests in
00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:28.899
Iran. I think everyone was in awe when they saw
00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:32.340
the role of women in 2022 and the uprisings in
00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:36.169
Iran after the death of Mahsa Jina Amini. But
00:10:36.169 --> 00:10:38.909
the reality is that that was something that was
00:10:38.909 --> 00:10:41.950
brewing for decades and coming together. And
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that was the, I guess, more extensive result
00:10:48.750 --> 00:10:56.429
of it or reaction to that. Okay. And who exactly
00:10:56.429 --> 00:11:01.409
is the person that you mentioned? Her name is,
00:11:01.509 --> 00:11:04.750
as I said, her name is Mariam Rajavi. She is
00:11:04.750 --> 00:11:07.149
the president -elect of the National Council
00:11:07.149 --> 00:11:13.830
of Resistance of Iran. She has been leading this
00:11:13.830 --> 00:11:19.490
movement and she is really the leader of this
00:11:19.490 --> 00:11:24.549
movement. She is based in France right now and
00:11:24.549 --> 00:11:31.129
she represents the fight for a secular democratic
00:11:31.129 --> 00:11:35.320
republic in Iran. Oh, I do apologize. I meant
00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:39.600
the person that you mentioned that died. Oh,
00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:46.399
Mahsa Jina Amini in 2022. She was a 22 -year
00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:51.019
-old girl who was unfortunately killed by the
00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:54.980
Iranian regime for malveiling when she was visiting
00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:59.320
Tehran with her family. And that became the spark
00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:02.159
of the nationwide uprisings in Iran in 2022.
00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:09.120
And she has become a symbol for, you know, the
00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.720
people of Iran. And she, you know, after her
00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:16.120
death, a nationwide uprising broke out in Iran,
00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:20.120
which lasted actually about nine months. And
00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:25.440
her memory still lives on and the message of
00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:29.980
her death. But yeah, she is truly one of the...
00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.279
one of those moments that will never be forgotten
00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:39.899
history of iran um so yeah wow and with the organization
00:12:39.899 --> 00:12:43.679
that you belong to are there different fractions
00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.740
of that organization like throughout the world
00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:49.500
or is it just based in france is it in the u
00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:53.379
.s or yes the national cancer resistance everyone
00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:57.740
has um representatives across you know around
00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.940
the girl around the globe actually it has over
00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:06.000
500 members 52 % of which are women and has like
00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.919
25 different committees and it is the Parliament
00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:16.740
in exile and it does have a US office and which
00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:21.519
is based in DC and it is very active there too
00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:26.320
and i mean the platform presented by this movement
00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.240
is very well known and also very well accepted
00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:34.299
in the international arena i mean over 4 000
00:13:34.299 --> 00:13:39.080
lawmakers have supported the 10 -point plan set
00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:43.240
forth by mrs rajavi for for the for free iran
00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:46.620
many have called it jeffersonian the majority
00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:49.460
of the u .s congress has supported it even in
00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:54.789
these very divided times um but um this is the
00:13:54.789 --> 00:13:58.929
one thing that everyone tends to to you know
00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:03.830
agree on and um like for instance over 130 former
00:14:03.830 --> 00:14:07.629
heads of state have supported it over 100 nobel
00:14:07.629 --> 00:14:10.889
laureates have supported this um 10 -point plan
00:14:10.889 --> 00:14:17.129
and um yeah that is what we plan to base the
00:14:17.129 --> 00:14:19.409
interim government after the fall of the regime
00:14:19.409 --> 00:14:23.990
on um until their elections held for to create
00:14:23.990 --> 00:14:28.049
the new constitution okay all right and with
00:14:28.049 --> 00:14:31.230
the work that you do so what exactly does it
00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:37.809
consist of um i mean depending on the times um
00:14:37.809 --> 00:14:41.370
there's a lot of changes but um breaking in the
00:14:41.370 --> 00:14:44.649
not you know ncrs foreign affairs committee it
00:14:44.649 --> 00:14:47.309
is mostly concentrated on trying to raise awareness
00:14:47.309 --> 00:14:52.659
um both among lawmakers um in different countries
00:14:52.659 --> 00:14:56.059
um in the public working with different ngos
00:14:56.059 --> 00:15:00.600
organizations um you know reaching out to the
00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.740
media but also like for instance um our youth
00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:06.840
activist chapters and um getting them active
00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:09.940
getting them getting them acquainted with the
00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:12.039
situation iran especially for the generations
00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:16.019
that you know um they've never actually had the
00:15:16.019 --> 00:15:20.220
chance to go to Iran or be in Iran they were
00:15:20.220 --> 00:15:25.279
born and raised abroad but they still feel strongly
00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:28.840
about you know Iran and they feel a responsibility
00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:33.059
to do something especially since now we see you
00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:35.759
know the role of the Gen Z of Iran in the uprisings
00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:37.580
and the protests and this is something that was
00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:41.679
seen in January uprisings that broke out and
00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:45.549
unfortunately the world saw you know thousands
00:15:45.549 --> 00:15:47.710
and thousands of people were killed on the streets
00:15:47.710 --> 00:15:53.190
many of them were under the age of 30 and um
00:15:53.190 --> 00:15:56.110
you know this is um something that continues
00:15:56.110 --> 00:15:59.350
unfortunately just in the last week the regime
00:15:59.350 --> 00:16:04.409
has had 10 political prisoners executed um one
00:16:04.409 --> 00:16:07.870
of them was as young as 18 years old oh wow and
00:16:07.870 --> 00:16:11.809
um so who was one of the protesters actually
00:16:11.809 --> 00:16:15.279
from the 10 people executed in the past week
00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:18.360
four of them were protesters who were detained
00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:22.440
in January and they were executed even in the
00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:25.320
midst of this war and everything that is happening
00:16:25.320 --> 00:16:32.620
in Iran right now wow that is so sad so um to
00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:36.200
any you know young girl that is listening to
00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:39.340
this that would want to take part and you know
00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:44.929
what advice would you give her how she can be
00:16:44.929 --> 00:16:49.830
involved or get involved well i think the first
00:16:49.830 --> 00:16:53.129
step um in getting involved is you know becoming
00:16:53.129 --> 00:16:57.409
more aware and informed but also raising awareness
00:16:57.409 --> 00:17:01.909
um but um so i think that is very key especially
00:17:01.909 --> 00:17:04.309
right now there's a lot of disinformation out
00:17:04.309 --> 00:17:07.470
there um there's a lot of you know manipulation
00:17:07.470 --> 00:17:10.839
and everything so it's very important to be you
00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:14.119
know, become informed. So take the time to inform
00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:15.960
yourself about what is going on. If you would
00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:17.640
like to learn more about, you know, the plight
00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:22.740
of women in Iran, there's wncri .org, which is
00:17:22.740 --> 00:17:26.400
from the Women's Committee of the National Council
00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:29.500
of Resistance of Iran. And it has a lot of great
00:17:29.500 --> 00:17:31.839
information about, you know, the situation and
00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:35.559
plight of women in Iran. To learn more about
00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:40.880
the movement itself, visit ncri .org. and actually
00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:45.440
ncr -iran .org or to learn more about Mayim Rajavi
00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:52.380
you could visit mayimrajavi4change .com and yeah
00:17:52.380 --> 00:17:56.339
if you would like to become more involved or
00:17:56.339 --> 00:17:58.859
engaged because there's right now as we speak
00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:01.599
there are a lot of different demonstrations rallies
00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:04.740
exhibits there's a lot of work being done on
00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:07.670
Capitol Hill If you would like to get involved,
00:18:07.849 --> 00:18:10.369
no matter where you are, there's the Organization
00:18:10.369 --> 00:18:13.529
of Iranian American Communities. Their website
00:18:13.529 --> 00:18:18.950
is oyac .org. And they have chapters in over
00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:24.349
40 states across the US. So you're probably covered
00:18:24.349 --> 00:18:26.750
there. And you can reach out to them and they
00:18:26.750 --> 00:18:30.130
will put you in contact with local chapters or
00:18:30.130 --> 00:18:34.869
the youth chapter that we have. And with becoming
00:18:34.869 --> 00:18:37.710
a part of this organization, do you have to be
00:18:37.710 --> 00:18:41.710
of Iranian descent or could it be anybody? No,
00:18:41.809 --> 00:18:44.650
there are a lot of people who are not Iranian,
00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:48.009
but they do want to help in regards to the human
00:18:48.009 --> 00:18:50.789
rights situation. And they're concerned about
00:18:50.789 --> 00:18:52.589
the plight of the people of Iran. And so they
00:18:52.589 --> 00:18:55.950
come and volunteer and help out in whatever way
00:18:55.950 --> 00:19:00.289
that they can. So it's open to everyone. Okay.
00:19:01.390 --> 00:19:03.930
Yeah, that sounds very interesting. Like to me,
00:19:03.950 --> 00:19:07.109
honestly, I hear and, you know, things on the
00:19:07.109 --> 00:19:09.869
news about what's going on in Iran. But to hear
00:19:09.869 --> 00:19:12.450
it firsthand from someone who's like kind of,
00:19:12.450 --> 00:19:15.430
I guess you would say knee deep in it is definitely
00:19:15.430 --> 00:19:20.069
different from what news is reporting and things
00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:24.009
like that. It's very disheartening, like just
00:19:24.009 --> 00:19:26.950
to think that we can't live in a world of peace.
00:19:27.130 --> 00:19:31.410
Like it's never. the wars never seem to stop
00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:34.650
or end like there's always some type and that's
00:19:34.650 --> 00:19:36.829
kind of why i don't like listening or watching
00:19:36.829 --> 00:19:40.049
the news because it's just always so depressing
00:19:40.049 --> 00:19:43.289
like there's always something bad going on somewhere
00:19:43.289 --> 00:19:48.269
yes there is but um i think it's very important
00:19:48.269 --> 00:19:52.970
to like your outlook on it um i think that each
00:19:52.970 --> 00:19:56.829
and every one of us can be agents of change and
00:19:56.829 --> 00:20:00.089
what's important is to when we see these situations
00:20:00.089 --> 00:20:03.730
to think like what can i do and um see our own
00:20:03.730 --> 00:20:05.910
role and what we can do because i think all of
00:20:05.910 --> 00:20:10.490
us can make an impact um and we shouldn't underestimate
00:20:10.490 --> 00:20:14.210
that impact that we can have oh yeah definitely
00:20:14.210 --> 00:20:16.470
i know that personally because there's several
00:20:16.470 --> 00:20:19.930
different things that i involve in i'm a person
00:20:19.930 --> 00:20:26.559
of service and community um so definitely it's
00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:30.039
just so much there's a lot that goes on like
00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:36.339
every day and it's just so sad like it is um
00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:40.019
and you're right i mean there's a lot of unfortunately
00:20:40.019 --> 00:20:44.539
pain and there's a lot of devastation but as
00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:48.059
i said i think that um there's a lot that we
00:20:48.059 --> 00:20:51.680
can do to create change too and we it's very
00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:55.119
easy to um due to the circumstances to really
00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:58.900
not see that and just give in to the circumstances
00:20:58.900 --> 00:21:03.259
but also there are these you know individuals
00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:05.640
that we see throughout history that they take
00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:08.779
they take it upon themselves to be that you know
00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:11.460
change that they want to see and they're able
00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:15.460
to make a you know major impact so um seeing
00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:17.859
that and understanding that i think that puts
00:21:17.859 --> 00:21:19.859
a lot of things into perspective and it's very
00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:24.529
important Yes, definitely. I've always been a
00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:26.670
person that says, yeah, be the change you want
00:21:26.670 --> 00:21:29.390
to see. Like you can't sit around waiting for
00:21:29.390 --> 00:21:33.069
things to change for you. You have to be that
00:21:33.069 --> 00:21:36.109
change that you're looking for. So yeah, involving
00:21:36.109 --> 00:21:40.069
yourself in organizations and situations that
00:21:40.069 --> 00:21:43.710
you feel called or led to be a part of is definitely
00:21:43.710 --> 00:21:50.210
important. Yeah, definitely. Especially when
00:21:50.210 --> 00:21:52.309
it comes to women's rights, because that's definitely
00:21:52.309 --> 00:21:55.809
women's empowerment is everything that I believe
00:21:55.809 --> 00:22:01.109
in and everything that I surround myself with
00:22:01.109 --> 00:22:04.569
due to being a woman who's been through a lot
00:22:04.569 --> 00:22:07.269
of trauma and a lot of just different experiences
00:22:07.269 --> 00:22:11.089
I've had in my life. So centering and involving
00:22:11.089 --> 00:22:14.690
myself in things related to lifting and rising
00:22:14.690 --> 00:22:20.160
women is basically. i feel like my purpose what
00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:23.359
i've been called to do and so that's why yeah
00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:25.980
i do what i do as far as this podcast and everything
00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:30.880
that i do outside of the podcast um is to help
00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:34.059
and and you know encourage and motivate and empower
00:22:34.059 --> 00:22:39.539
women to you know basically let their their their
00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:42.640
selves shine and let themselves be seen and heard
00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:46.259
and not just basically just remain silent like
00:22:46.650 --> 00:22:49.190
let themselves know that their voices matter.
00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:52.730
What they have to say matters. And, you know,
00:22:52.750 --> 00:22:58.369
not be afraid to voice, use their voice. Yes,
00:22:58.369 --> 00:23:01.630
exactly. I agree. I think it's very important
00:23:01.630 --> 00:23:05.549
to, you know, use your voice and to be the voice
00:23:05.549 --> 00:23:07.710
of, you know, I don't want to say the voices,
00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:10.109
but those who don't have the opportunity to be
00:23:10.109 --> 00:23:12.970
able to echo their own voice. And I think that
00:23:12.970 --> 00:23:16.170
we can all play that. uh role and take on that
00:23:16.170 --> 00:23:20.289
responsibility and i think that as you mentioned
00:23:20.289 --> 00:23:23.410
i think um women's empowerment is key to any
00:23:23.410 --> 00:23:28.289
democracy yes because it it's half of society
00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:31.910
and um it's really important for for women to
00:23:31.910 --> 00:23:34.950
be represented and i think that you could take
00:23:34.950 --> 00:23:42.980
tell a lot about its system um when you look
00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:46.859
at how they you know see the role of women or
00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:49.400
how women are treated in that society or in that
00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:52.619
system so i think that this is one of those pillars
00:23:52.619 --> 00:23:55.980
that's really important to address and concentrate
00:23:55.980 --> 00:24:02.359
on and to um be active on yes because it's something
00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:04.700
i've always just noticed and you know i've talked
00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:07.619
about this with other um guests or other people
00:24:07.619 --> 00:24:14.670
that We already have it hard as women being belittled
00:24:14.670 --> 00:24:18.549
and stuffed by men, but then to also turn around
00:24:18.549 --> 00:24:21.309
and go through the same thing with our own women.
00:24:21.569 --> 00:24:25.390
We have to stand together and lift each other
00:24:25.390 --> 00:24:29.730
up because there's a lot that we have to go through.
00:24:30.940 --> 00:24:33.480
instead of competing with each other and trying
00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:35.720
to tear each other down we need to come together
00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:39.259
so that we can the stronger we are together the
00:24:39.259 --> 00:24:41.839
stronger we'll be able to you know help to change
00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.960
the perspective of women and what we're capable
00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:49.819
of but i just noticed so much that yeah women
00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:53.220
they tear each other down instead of lifting
00:24:53.220 --> 00:24:57.960
each other up i think that that is also part
00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:02.039
of the um unfortunately the male dominant world
00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:05.319
that has been created in that culture and in
00:25:05.319 --> 00:25:07.700
fact that is one of the barriers that we have
00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:11.099
as a movement been able to overcome uh the fact
00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:15.279
that we have had women in leadership and uh women
00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:18.880
empowerment like systematically for three decades
00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:23.099
uh this is um first you have to overcome even
00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:30.869
your own um i guess disbeliefs and in regarding
00:25:30.869 --> 00:25:35.109
to like you know woman's power power and overcoming
00:25:35.109 --> 00:25:37.390
things and there's so many you know glass and
00:25:37.390 --> 00:25:43.109
ceilings that have been embedded i guess in every
00:25:43.109 --> 00:25:47.029
woman um by society and so it's very important
00:25:47.029 --> 00:25:49.230
to be able to put the you know understand those
00:25:49.230 --> 00:25:51.950
and be able to overcome them and um put them
00:25:51.950 --> 00:25:54.950
aside but um this is actually something that
00:25:54.950 --> 00:25:58.680
we have had you know great experience in but
00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:02.160
i also think that what we have experienced is
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:07.160
that this path is opened by you know paying a
00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:09.680
price for other women and putting them before
00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:13.400
yourself and that cycle of giving and that's
00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:17.279
like that is what actually creates a very strong
00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:23.420
bond and also it allows you know other women
00:26:23.420 --> 00:26:26.420
to flourish it's very important that you don't
00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:30.460
try to get there you know on your own um help
00:26:30.460 --> 00:26:33.759
others along the way and pull others you know
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.680
forward and i think that is a cycle that is like
00:26:37.680 --> 00:26:41.400
a never -ending cycle of giving and that that
00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:44.920
is what empowers us uh the most and that has
00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:47.380
been our personal experience in this movement
00:26:47.380 --> 00:26:53.039
yeah i would definitely have to say my for the
00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:58.160
first time i actually experienced seeing something
00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:01.160
that I guess I've never experienced so I'm a
00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:04.140
pageant title holder so my pageant title is Miss
00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:07.339
Altruistic 2025 and so that was my first time
00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:11.700
competing in a pageant but I noticed like on
00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:15.519
day like the pageant day you know we're all competing
00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:17.940
for a title you know we're competing against
00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:19.619
each other we're hoping that we're gonna win
00:27:19.619 --> 00:27:24.140
and walk away but it was like behind the scenes
00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:27.000
like we were all like encouraging these like
00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:30.559
it did not feel like a competition like it felt
00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.440
like we were all you know if someone was nervous
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.500
or someone was feeling you know doubting themselves
00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:39.160
or whatever like we were there like lifting each
00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:43.140
other up and like encouraging each other and
00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:45.849
motivating each other and it was just like it
00:27:45.849 --> 00:27:49.089
was so amazing to see that despite this being
00:27:49.089 --> 00:27:52.930
a competition, like it didn't feel like a competition.
00:27:53.029 --> 00:27:56.089
We were all there supporting and encouraging
00:27:56.089 --> 00:27:59.089
each other, even though, you know, everyone didn't
00:27:59.089 --> 00:28:01.690
walk away with the title, but that was like my
00:28:01.690 --> 00:28:05.069
first experience of seeing like a true sisterhood
00:28:05.069 --> 00:28:09.049
and seeing a true bond and, you know, just that
00:28:09.049 --> 00:28:14.220
willingness to let, you know, everybody shine
00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:17.359
and be a part of it, come together and not try
00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:20.500
to divide and, you know, conquer. It was just,
00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:22.599
you know, what do you need help with? What can
00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:24.759
I do to help you? What can I do to assist you?
00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:29.000
And it was like, it was beautiful. And I've actually
00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:36.140
never seen that before. Yes, I think that these
00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:40.880
experiences just help each one of us to be able
00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:44.049
to understand, like, we are the ones who create
00:28:44.049 --> 00:28:47.289
that create we can create that new culture of
00:28:47.289 --> 00:28:49.970
you know supporting one another instead of being
00:28:49.970 --> 00:28:53.410
in competition with one another or um i think
00:28:53.410 --> 00:28:58.369
you know these are things that we have the ability
00:28:58.369 --> 00:29:02.089
to change and um it has a ripple effect i mean
00:29:02.089 --> 00:29:05.450
once you you do that it creates like a whole
00:29:05.450 --> 00:29:08.690
you know cycle of others who will learn from
00:29:08.690 --> 00:29:10.710
it and they will also do that the same thing
00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:14.099
And I think that is what creates a lot of change
00:29:14.099 --> 00:29:19.859
in our society. Yes, definitely. All right. Is
00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:22.660
there anything else you would like to add or
00:29:22.660 --> 00:29:26.380
anything else you would like to mention? Well,
00:29:26.619 --> 00:29:30.759
right now, to be honest, one of the things due
00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:33.980
to the circumstances I would like to raise is
00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:36.700
right now is a very, very difficult time for
00:29:36.700 --> 00:29:39.980
the people of Iran. As we are speaking today.
00:29:40.730 --> 00:29:44.029
um it is hopefully the first day of ceasefire
00:29:44.029 --> 00:29:49.829
but this is after 39 days of war and um you know
00:29:49.829 --> 00:29:51.769
it's a very very critical time for the people
00:29:51.769 --> 00:29:54.829
of iran so anything that you can do to echo their
00:29:54.829 --> 00:29:57.089
voice and be their voice we greatly appreciate
00:29:57.089 --> 00:29:59.970
it the reality is that the people of iran we
00:29:59.970 --> 00:30:05.069
don't we see the solution being neither war nor
00:30:05.069 --> 00:30:07.569
appeasement but to support the people of iran
00:30:07.569 --> 00:30:09.430
and their resistance to be able to bring about
00:30:09.430 --> 00:30:13.579
change because the people of Iran want to move
00:30:13.579 --> 00:30:18.200
forward to build a secular democratic republic
00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:22.759
so putting behind them both the current theocracy
00:30:22.759 --> 00:30:25.460
that's ruling Iran but also they don't want to
00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:28.059
go back to the previous dictatorship which was
00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:31.579
a monarchy so it's very important to understand
00:30:31.579 --> 00:30:35.440
that and to be able to to support stand by the
00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:38.579
people of Iran in these very crucial times as
00:30:38.579 --> 00:30:41.519
they try to take their destiny into their own
00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:45.259
hands and to be able to you know overcome the
00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:51.599
the situation that we are dealing with um under
00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:55.440
the mullahs and but what's important is to know
00:30:55.440 --> 00:30:57.960
that there is a solution and that there is a
00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:02.019
viable alternative which is represented by the
00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:04.640
national council of resistance of iran and mrs
00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:08.539
mayim rajavi which for us is a true source of
00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:14.059
inspiration Wow, I love it. And can you mention
00:31:14.059 --> 00:31:18.339
again, the different websites that anyone who's
00:31:18.339 --> 00:31:21.440
interested in, you know, being a part in seeing
00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:24.039
what they can do to help where they can go to
00:31:24.039 --> 00:31:26.980
get more information? Yeah, sure. And I could
00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:29.500
also send them to you so you could add them to
00:31:29.500 --> 00:31:33.720
the notes, podcast notes. But to learn more about
00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:36.339
the situation of women in Iran, you could visit
00:31:36.339 --> 00:31:41.119
wncri .org. To learn more about the Iranian resistance,
00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:45.480
you could visit ncr -iran .org. And to learn
00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:47.599
more about Maryam Rajavi, the president -elect
00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:50.059
of the resistance and her viewpoints, because
00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:52.859
it's far more than just being the president of
00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:56.950
this movement, I think. her views on women's
00:31:56.950 --> 00:31:59.950
rights is something that's phenomenal and i think
00:31:59.950 --> 00:32:03.849
a lot of people can you know gain from that um
00:32:03.849 --> 00:32:07.609
you can learn more about that on mayamrajiv4change
00:32:07.609 --> 00:32:13.400
.com all right thank you so much And now we have
00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:16.539
come to my favorite part of the show where I
00:32:16.539 --> 00:32:18.480
like to play a little game called What Is She
00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:21.779
Thinking? So I will give you five random phrases.
00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:23.660
You'll tell me the first thing that comes to
00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:25.799
your mind. You don't have to think too hard about
00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:28.099
it. Just something fun to get to know you after
00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:47.420
a great conversation. Okay. All right. So your
00:32:47.420 --> 00:32:50.000
first one is going to be women's empowerment
00:32:50.000 --> 00:33:00.319
means. Women's empowerment means allowing women
00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:05.920
to take their role in society and being able
00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:11.569
to create their own future and to. be able to
00:33:11.569 --> 00:33:15.430
navigate what a equal society would look like.
00:33:15.829 --> 00:33:19.329
I think that women's empowerment is just key,
00:33:19.549 --> 00:33:24.450
as I said, for the emancipation of all human
00:33:24.450 --> 00:33:30.930
beings and to move forward our societies. I think
00:33:30.930 --> 00:33:34.390
women's empowerment is key for that. All right.
00:33:34.589 --> 00:33:36.910
So your next one is going to be, do you prefer
00:33:36.910 --> 00:33:48.339
dogs or cats? Cass. Cass. Okay. All right. So
00:33:48.339 --> 00:33:57.759
one word that describes your personality. That's
00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:08.400
a hard one. I guess driven. Driven. Okay. I like
00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:11.840
that. All right, so your next one is going to
00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:19.440
be garlic bread goes good with? Pasta. Pasta,
00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:25.239
okay. And your last one is going to be a woman
00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:31.619
has the right to? The right to decide her own
00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:41.139
destiny. Love it. that is so so so so true all
00:34:41.139 --> 00:34:45.739
right so is there any like social media um anything
00:34:45.739 --> 00:34:47.840
that you would like to share for listeners to
00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:50.500
be able to reach out to you websites of your
00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:53.380
personal um that you would like listeners to
00:34:53.380 --> 00:34:56.440
be able to contact you from um if anyone wants
00:34:56.440 --> 00:35:00.480
to contact me i am available on x instagram and
00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:03.519
linkedin um the easiest way to find me is probably
00:35:04.400 --> 00:35:08.260
searching my name but um yeah i'd be more than
00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:11.119
happy to respond to anyone who wants to reach
00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:14.679
out thank you for this opportunity you are so
00:35:14.679 --> 00:35:16.940
welcome and thank you everyone for listening
00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:21.130
don't forget to visit the podcast On our website
00:35:21.130 --> 00:35:25.210
at BFFEmpowermentPodcast .com to keep up with
00:35:25.210 --> 00:35:27.769
the latest and greatest on what's going on with
00:35:27.769 --> 00:35:32.449
the podcast. Also visit us on all of our social
00:35:32.449 --> 00:35:36.329
media. We are on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,
00:35:36.710 --> 00:35:41.849
YouTube, and also threads at BFFEmpowermentPodcast.
00:35:42.760 --> 00:35:46.019
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review
00:35:46.019 --> 00:35:49.280
on your favorite podcast platform of choice to
00:35:49.280 --> 00:35:51.500
help other women discover their next favorite
00:35:51.500 --> 00:35:55.059
women's empowerment podcast. And also, if you
00:35:55.059 --> 00:35:57.679
would like to be spotlighted as a Women on the
00:35:57.679 --> 00:36:00.739
Rise guest, be sure to send an interest email
00:36:00.739 --> 00:36:05.239
to bffempowerment at gmail .com. And until next
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time, guys, thank you so much for listening.
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Good girl