Leila Alikarami
Human rights lawyer
Dr. Leila Alikarami is a well-recognized Iranian lawyer, human rights advocate, and women’s rights expert. Dr. Alikarami has defended women facing domestic violence, brought her clients' stories to the media to raise public awareness, and helped change discriminatory laws in Iran. Leila, with other Iranian women’s rights activists, launched the One Million Signatures Campaign to pressure the Iranian government into ending legal discrimination against Iranian women. She has been honored by the European Union as a 2016 Sakharov Fellow in human rights and received the Anna Politkovskaya Award in 2009 from Reach All Women in War. Dr. Alikarami is a frequent speaker on women's rights and human rights, has written several academic articles on women in Iran, and published numerous articles in media worldwide such as Huffington Post, BBC Persian, Al Monitor, and Open Democracy. Her book, "Women, Law and Activism in Iran" was published in 2019.
All Sessions by Leila Alikarami
Panel 'Global faces of activism'
European Committee of the RegionsAutocratisation trends have galvanised democracies from across the globe and sparked civic awakening worldwide. Throughout 2022 major protests occurred in Iran, Georgia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China and Hong Kong, as citizens worldwide took to the streets to demand their rights. This session will showcase the story of four activists and how they are planning to achieve a more democratic future for their countries. With Zaza Abashidze (RealPolitika), Leila Alikarami (Lawyer and human rights advocate), Nathan Law (Hong Kong democratic activist) and Olga Rudenko (The Kyiv Independent). Moderated by Hardy Merriman (International Center on Nonviolent Conflict).
