Zan (Persian: زن, lit.'Woman') was an Iranian Persian-language weekly newspaper focused on women's rights, published from 1998 until it was banned in 1999.[1]

Zan
TypeWeekly newspaper
Founder(s)Faezeh Hashemi
FoundedJuly 1998
LanguagePersian
Ceased publication6 April 1999

History

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Zan was founded by Faezeh Hashemi in July 1998, becoming the first-ever women's newspaper in Iran.[2] It brought women into the political debate between modernists and traditionalists.[2] It was quickly harassed by the hard-line judiciary, with reporter Camelia Entekhabifard arrested and held for 76 days.[3] The newspaper was banned on the orders of the Revolutionary Court on 6 April 1999.[1][4] The reasons cited for the ban included the newspaper's publication of cartoons criticizing Iranian traditionalists, as well as the publication of a Newroz message from Farah Diba, the exiled Empress of Iran.[1][4][5]

Content

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During its brief existence, Zan broke several important news stories. In the fall of 1998, the newspaper published a leaked list of 179 intellectuals, writers, and political activists who were marked for death by the Iranian government. The list included Nooshabeh Amiri, Ebrahim Nabavi, Mehrangiz Kar, and Camelia Entekhabifard. The story caused a great deal of controversy within Iran.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Profile – Sayyed Mohammad Khatami". APS Review Gas Market Trends. 19 April 1999.
  2. ^ a b Ziba Mir-Hosseini (2000). Islam and Gender: The Religious Debate in Contemporary Iran. I.B. Tauris. p. 275. ISBN 1-85043-269-4.
  3. ^ Stephen C. Poulson (2006). Social Movements in Twentieth-Century Iran. Lexington Books. p. 284. ISBN 0-7391-1757-2.
  4. ^ a b A. W. Samii (December 1999). "The Contemporary Iranian News Media, 1998-1999+" (PDF). Middle East Review of International Affairs. 4 (4). Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Iranian journalists arrested". BBC. 19 June 1999. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  6. ^ Entekhabifard, Camelia (2008). Camelia, Save Yourself by Telling the Truth: A Memoir of Iran. New York: Seven Stories Press. pp. 197–198. ISBN 978-1-58322-833-3.