Our Voices


22nd October 2017
This piece was first published in The Freethinker. Segregation was humiliating. Just the reality of signs that said you couldn’t use front doors or you couldn’t use this water fountain implied that you were subhuman … Every time I complied with a sign, I felt like I was acquiescing to my own inhumanity. I felt […]

10th July 2017
Join protest at Court of Appeal hearing on 11 and 12 July 2017 at 9.30am at Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL. Pack out the public gallery in the court so that the judiciary is under no illusion as to what is at stake. Publicise our campaign widely. PRESS RELEASE 6 July 2017 […]

27th June 2017
This is my letter to you, not you the racist or Islamist but you who I should call friend: I Accuse‬. Published in sister-hood, 27 June 2017. Spanish Translation This is my letter to you. Not you, the Islamist, who wants me silent or dead whilst dreaming of your vile caliphate, nor you, the racist, […]

26th May 2017
Below is my monthly column for The Freethinker entitled: Religion is fundamentally patriarchal and anti-woman, 25 May 2016 As US suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton once said: You may go over the world and you will find that every form of religion which has breathed upon this earth has degraded woman. In one Hadith, Mohammed, Islam’s prophet […]

24th May 2017
به دعوت سازمان پلاتفرم دابران براى شركت در كنگره مؤسس فمنيسم روشنگرى به سليمانيه سفر كرده بودم. من درباره اسلام و اسلام سياسى بعنوان مهمترين سد راه رهائى زنان سخنرانى كردم۔ ترجمه متن سخنرانى ام   اسلام  و اسلام سياسى بزگترين سد راه رهائى زنان (* اليزابت استانتن، از رهبران جنبش سافرجت كفته بود: إنجيل […]

24th May 2017
Our spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, was invited by Dabran Platform to speak at the Founding Congress of Enlightenment Feminism in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan (photos below). She spoke about Islam and Islamism as the greatest stumbling blocks for women’s emancipation and how Islamists target women and girls first – whether in Tehran, Peshawar or Manchester. Here’s her speech: Islam […]

8th March 2017
هر گاه كه اسلاميون به قدرت ميرسند، ابتدا سراغ زنان مى آيند و اين نشانه اى است از تخريب اوضاع؛ از اينرو كه معيار آزادى هر جامعه اى آزادى زنان است۔ اسلاميون و همچنان تمامى راست مذهبى ها، ضديت با زن را تا سطح يك هنر ارتقاء داده اند! آواز خوانى در اماكن عمومى، بلند […]

7th March 2017
My latest piece in The Freethinker to mark International Women’s Day. Wherever Islamism gains power and influence, it comes for women first. And it’s always a sign of worse to come, hence the saying: ‘the freedom of society is measured by the freedom of women.’ Islamism but also the Christian-Right, Buddhist-Right,  Jewish-Right,  Hindu-Right, Sikh-Right … […]

28th December 2014
Sharia Law is Incompatible with Human Rights. Interview with Chris Moos, Pragna Patel and Gita Sahgal on the Victory Against the Law Society. Maryam Namazie: The Law Society has now withdrawn its Sharia-compliant guidance on wills and issued an apology. Why did you initiate a campaign against it? Was it not a lot of fuss […]

28th December 2014
‘Execution Is Itself The Murder Of A Human Being.’ Interview with Mina Ahadi. The below is an edited transcript of a Bread and Roses TV interview with Mina Ahadi, Spokesperson for the International Committees against Execution and Stoning Maryam Namazie: You have been unrelenting in your activism against execution and stoning. In your opinion, what […]

28th December 2014
Editorial The Answer To Inhumanity Is Not More Inhumanity. Maryam Namazie A vast secular movement against the religious-Right is never more needed than in the ISIS era – whether it be in Sri Lanka vis-a-vis the Buddhist Right, India versus the Hindu-Right, the Christian-Right in the USA and Europe or against Islamism from Iran, Algeria […]

28th December 2014
The Unfolding of a Human Tragedy: On the Israel-Palestine Issue Interview with Nira Yuval-Davis The below is an edited transcript of a Bread and Roses TV interview with Nira Yuval-Davis, an Israeli Diasporic Jewish dissident: Maryam Namazie: I wanted to ask you about the Israeli-Palestinian issue; it’s a human tragedy unfolding before our eyes. Nira […]

28th December 2014
‘ISIS’ Is No One’s Representative. Interview with Houzan Mahmoud The below is an edited transcript of a Bread and Roses TV interview with Houzan Mahmoud, International Spokesperson for Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq: Maryam Namazie: What is the situation in Iraq for women today with the attacks by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and […]

28th December 2014
Editorial Murder Can Never Be Justified — On the Israeli Offensive On Gaza Maryam Namazie Murder can never be justified whatever the reason – security, a cause, or strongly held beliefs. The pummelling of Gaza by the Israeli state – from schools to hospitals – is nothing short of murder. It’s a war crime. It’s […]

28th December 2014
Secularism is a Human Right Interview with AC Grayling The below is a Bread and Roses TV interview broadcast via New Channel TV on 20 May 2014: Maryam Namazie: What is secularism and what is the value of secularism for both believers and non-believers? AC Grayling: Firstly let me say it’s a great pleasure to […]

28th December 2014
Editorial A female earthquake “by stealth” Maryam Namazie Tehranˈs Interim Friday Prayers Leader Hojjatoeslam Kazem Sedighi recently said: “In certain towns and cities, some have been seen to have removed their headscarves. This lack of hijab has infiltrated homes via internet and satellite TV…” Hadi Sharifi, a “media activist” interviewed by Tasnim, a state-run news […]

28th December 2014
‘Equality before the law’ is not just an empty phrase On the Law Society’s Discriminatory Guidance on Sharia-Compliant Inheritance and Wills Interview with Pragna Patel Maryam Namazie: British law already allows people to leave their estates to whomever they choose so why does a statement signed by a number of groups and individuals label the […]

28th December 2014
Editorials Sharia law is madness Maryam Namazie Sharia law is highly contested and vehemently opposed in many places across the globe. In Algeria, women’s rights activists singing for change label 20 years of Sharia in the family code as 20 years of madness. They sing: “I am telling you a story Of what the powerful […]

28th December 2014
This is my body; I will do whatever I want with it Interview with Amina Sboui and Aliaa Magda Elmahdy Maryam Namazie: Why did you do the nude action in Egypt? Aliaa Magda Elmahdy: In Egypt, a woman is like a lifeless body, a corpse. This body is owned by other people. They think if […]

28th December 2014
I will be nude, I’ll protest and I’ll challenge you! Maryam Namazie All religions have a disturbing view of the female and her body. Islam is no different. Given that Islamism – a regressive political movement with state power and political influence in many places – is using Islam as its banner, however, women’s sexuality […]

28th December 2014
Women’s breasts: a serious threat Patty Debonitas Thousands of people have attended breastfeeding protests in support of a Staffordshire mother who was labelled a “tramp” for feeding her baby in public. The breast is a thing of concern for many. To show it or not, to look or not. To breastfeed or not. In public […]

27th December 2014
Secularism, Islamism and the Anti-Immigration Confusion Secularism and fundamentalism are not ideas stitched into people’s DNA Interview with Kenan Malik Maryam Namazie: Restrictions demanded by Islamists are viewed as the demand of Muslims and immigrants who are seen to be a homogeneous group with no differences of opinion. Immigrants and Muslims are often blamed for […]

27th December 2014
Editorials Hassan Rouhani’s charm offensive is just plain offensive Maryam Namazie   Rouhani’s “charm offensive” (including the “historic nuclear deal” and the promise of opening Iran up for business) is the other side of the coin of the regime’s intensification of repression. If you smile rather than scowl and utter sweet nothings and empty promises, […]

27th December 2014
World Hijab Day   Maryam Namazie 1 February is World Hijab Day. What next? Maybe a World Mutilation Day to show support for women and girls who have been mutilated and World Child Marriages Day when we can marry off our under-aged daughters to show support and solidarity with religious and cultural practices that are […]

27th December 2014
Mixing is the future of humanity Interview with Marieme Helie Lucas   Maryam Namazie: What is the nature of the recent sex segregation scandal at Universities UK where the representative body issued guidance saying side by side sex segregation was permissible? Why does it occur and by whom is it imposed? Also, it’s more than […]

27th December 2014
Gender apartheid is an Islamist demand Maryam Namazie Segregation of the sexes is an Islamist demand though it is often couched as a right and demand of ‘Muslims’. When Islamists have state power like in Iran or Saudi Arabia, it’s the law. Transgressing it can mean fines, imprisonment or worse. There, women must enter government […]

27th December 2014
We should not abandon secularism Interview with Pragna Patel and Gita Sahgal   Maryam Namazie: The term post-secular is being used a lot recently to say that western secularism may have come to an end and that it’s irrelevant for other societies, particularly given the “religious revival.” Is there a religious revival or is it […]

25th November 2014
Editorial Secularism as a Universal Right Maryam Namazie The concept of ‘post-secularism’ aids in theorising efforts to diminish secularism’s importance just when it’s needed most. A theory that insists that secularism lacks relevance, particularly for ‘non-Westerners,’ is part of the project to dismantle it and knowingly or unwittingly enhances the regressive role of the religious-Right […]

25th November 2014
The veil is nothing but the flag of the Muslim far right Interview with Marieme Helie Lucas Maryam Namazie: Limitations on the veil in schools and an all-out ban on the burqa or niqab are often seen to be authoritarian. Your views? Marieme Helie Lucas: First of all, it is useful not to conflate the […]

25th November 2014
Neither Veil nor Submission Maryam Namazie The niqab (and burqa) must be banned to protect women’s rights and secularism – and not just out of concern for security. It’s a shroud, strait jacket, and mobile prison for women and girls who are bound and gagged and made invisible. According to Algerian writer Karima Bennoune, the […]

25th November 2014
Women’s News Interview with Maryam Namazie Interview The rise of Fitnah- ‘Ready to Cause Afflication’ Women’s News Interview with Maryam Namazie The below interview was published on Women’s eNews. Women’s eNews: Why did you label the campaign ‘Fitnah’? In the email received yesterday, you say “women are seen to be the source of fitnah or […]

25th November 2014
Whilst Rouhani Smiles Abroad, Attacks Continue Unabated Maryam Namazie Hassan Rouhani, the new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been hailed as a moderate and reformer. Whilst he smiles abroad, however, the attack on women and girls in Iran continues unabated. Rouhani is not a reformer in any sense of the word. Reform […]

11th December 2013
Outcry at ‘gender apartheid’ in new guidance for UK universities, The Independent, 11 December 2013
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