SAR Press Release:

Mehrangiz Kar, renowned defender of human rights to speak at Fordham on legal violence against women in Iran

SAR-PR-04-04, April 6, 2004

New York, NY - Iranian human rights advocate Mehrangiz Kar will give a public lecture on legal violence against women in Iran, organized by Fordham University's Women's Studies Program and co-sponsored by the Fordham Law School's Joseph R. Crowley Program in International Human Rights and the Scholars at Risk Network based at New York University.

The lecture is a part of the Scholars at Risk speaker series to raise awareness about threats facing scholars worldwide. Kar's lecture will address injustices against women resulting from the current interpretation of the Sharia legal code in Iran and will be held on April 26, from 5:30 - 6:30 pm at 113 West 60th Street, McMahon Hall, Room #109 on the Lincoln Center Campus of Fordham University.

Mehrangiz Kar is an Iranian lawyer and writer specializing in women's rights and family law. A colleague of 2003 Nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, Kar is internationally renowned for her writings, speaking and activism in defense of women's and human rights. She is the recipient of several human rights awards, including the 2002 Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize.

Mehrangiz Kar came to world-wide attention in 2000 when she was imprisoned in the spring of 2000 for expressing critical views about Iran's legal system while at an international conference in Berlin. In January 2001 she was convicted and sentenced to four years' imprisonment on charges of acting against national security and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic regime. Kar was later released on bail and her sentence was reduced to six months' imprisonment, calculated as time served (two months' imprisonment) plus a 500,000 rial fine.

"Mehrangiz Kar is a true champion of freedom," says Scholars at Risk Director (and Fordham Law alum) Robert Quinn, "Despite great cost to herself and her family, she has maintained the courage to think freely and to share her opinions in her writing, her teaching and through talks like this one. She is exactly the type of important, courageous, intellectual voice that Scholars at Risk was created to honor and defend."

Mehrangiz Kar left for the United States after her release on bail in 2001. After arriving in the United States, her husband, 73-year old journalist Siamak Pourzand was tried and sentenced to eight years in prison for charges widely thought to be politically motivated. He remains in prison to this day. Kar hopes to return to Iran someday. She currently is living in the United States and is teaching at Columbia University.

This lecture is organized by Fordham University's Women's Studies Program and co-sponsored by Scholars at Risk and Fordham Law School's Joseph R. Crowley Program in International Human Rights.

The Women's Studies Program at Fordham houses the women's studies major, an interdisciplinary approach to issues of gender. The program also brings to the Fordham campuses distinguished activists and scholars to speak on a range of topics concerning the status and lives of women in the larger world.

Fordham Law School's Joseph R. Crowley Program in International Human Rights aims to increase awareness of human rights problems around the world and to prepare lawyers to address those problems throughout their careers on a full-time, part-time, or pro bono basis. To reach these goals, the Program is structured around two areas of activity: the Speaker Series and an Annual Human Rights Mission. The Crowley Program also brings an international component to the Law School's long-standing commitment to public service and ethics. For more info., visit: http://law.fordham.edu

Scholars at Risk is an international network of more than 75 universities and colleges working to promote academic freedom and to defend the human rights of scholars worldwide. Scholars at Risk's primary activity is to arrange short-term, emergency visits in the US and abroad for scholars like who suffer because of their work, prominence, or exercise of their basic human rights. For more info., visit: http://scholarsatrisk.nyu.edu

"We are so grateful to Fordham and in particular the Women's Center and Crowley Program for inviting Mrs. Kar and Scholars at Risk to campus and organizing this timely and important discussion." said Quinn.

The seminar is free and open to the public. Media and non-Fordham persons interested in attending the event should arrange access by contacting Carla Stuart at 212-998-2179 or carla.stuart@nyu.edu. For a map and directions to Lincoln Center, please visit:
http://www.fordham.edu/general/Contact_Us/Going_to_Lincoln_Cen2695.html

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