HÂþ»­

Description

During the Fall of 2022, nationwide protests began in Iran following the tragic death of Mahsa Jina Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died while being detained by Iran's "morality police" for not covering her hair properly. Her senseless death, and those of many other women and children who peacefully and bravely protested the violations of their basic human rights, has sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. This movement is routed in the desire for, and commitment to, equality, safety, and choice for women and children in Iran.

In solidarity with this movement, Dr. Hamed Aghakhani, members of the Iranian Canadian community, and other equity-seeking groups are working to establish the Woman, Life, Freedom Scholarship. The purpose of this scholarship is to support this movement in Iran. Eligible recipients include Iranian women and other Iranian equity-deserving gender identities entering or currently enrolled in a graduate program at HÂþ»­ University.

Women make up approximately 60% of university graduates in Iran but constitute only 15% of the workforce. This is just one example of inequity and injustice toward women in Iran, which induces our responsibility to fight against it. By welcoming students to continue their studies here in Halifax, Canada, we can support these women and persons of equity-deserving gender identities by offering them a safe place to advance their education and pursue their goals. In doing so, we can work towards closing this unfair gender gap. This scholarship recognizes the importance of the Women, Life, Freedom movement and the frontline work being done by women and persons of equity-deserving gender identities in Iran. Our hope is that it will be the first of many movements to support Iranian women and/or persons of equity-deserving gender identities coming to Canada to pursue graduate programs.