Faezeh Hashemi - Views and Activism

Views and Activism

During the 2009 Iranian election protests, Reuters reported that Rafsanjani addressed a crowd at a banned opposition rally in Tehran on June 16, and was subsequently prohibited from leaving the country. She has been arrested and briefly detained at least twice after participating in an opposition rallies in Tehran—on June 20, 2009 (together with four relatives), and again on February 20, 2010 after "making blunt statements and chanting provocative slogans," according to Iranian state media.

A couple of videos have appeared on the internet showing her being harassed by hardliners. Sometime before February 27, a video appeared showing Hashemi surrounded by several "hard-liners" threatening her with violence, insulting her, calling her a "whore," and chanting "Death to Rafsanjani".

Faeze favors women's rights, and has been a staunch advocate of relaxation of strict dress code (even though she prefers to wear the chador herself) She does not think it should be imposed on the people. She has traveled widely to Europe, Africa, and India to promote dialogue and is interested in ties with all regions. She has written positively about the effective movements of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Gandhi.