Dec 21 2022 45 mins 2
Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh and I discuss the current events in Iran and what we need to understand about the communities there, what is changing, and what we can do here in the United States to support Iranian communities. Dr. Nasserzadeh also discusses her personal journey and current work with Iranian communities, both locally and globally.
Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh, PhD, is a social psychologist and global thought leader in the fields of couples counseling, cross-cultural fluency, diversity and inclusion. She has practiced across the world, including in London, New York and Palo Alto, and currently in Beverly Hills, California.
Throughout her work, there are several common threads, the most fundamental of which is her belief in “loving many through one” and therefore the possibility of creating world peace one relationship at a time. She has also been a senior cultural advisor and strategic consultant for governments, international NGOs, United Nation-affiliated agencies, Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, and professional organizations across 38 countries.
For more information about Dr. Nasserzadeh, please click here
Dr. Nasserzadeh provided the following suggestions.
To Support Iranian communities, please consider the following:
Use The hashtags are: #Mahsa_Amini #WomenLifeFreedom #MahsaAmini
Here are some simple steps to help:
- Follow an Iranian activist such as these accounts that have been very vocal and reshare what they post with the relevant hashtags to raise awareness:
https://www.instagram.com/golfarahani/
https://www.instagram.com/masih.alinejad/
https://www.instagram.com/iranhumanrights/ - Write to your congressmen to stop acknowledging Iran’s regime as legitimate.
- If you are a colleague, reach out, call out and call-in conversations around what is happening. It is very triggering and uncomfortable for most Iranians to lose face (even in the pictures of protesters, you will see that when they know they are being photographed, they are smiling). It is very hard to be vulnerable knowing that Iranians are already stigmatized against in the larger society.
- If you feel like you want to read to learn more about Iran, here are some suggestions to begin with:
- Persepolis which is both in graphic novels as well as animation series: https://www.amazon.com/Persepolis-Childhood-Pantheon-Graphic-Library/dp/037571457X
- Reading Lolita In Tehran: https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Lolita-Tehran-Memoir-Books/dp/0812979303/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZW9N3J2RXPEB&keywords=reading+lolita&qid=1669609525&s=books&sprefix=reading+lolita%2Cstripbooks%2C144&sr=1-1
- If you have the heart, watch Holy Spider, which is in movie theatres in Los Angeles (I think across the US): https://g.co/kgs/Dj1M8M
- Here is the November issue of the world association for sexual health where Dr. Nasserzadeh explains about the state of the revolution (this is not just a protest or strike): https://sexualadviceassociation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/WAS-Newsletter-June-2015.pdf
Consider supporting NUFDI is also in the right direction: https://nufdiran.org/
They are a non-partisan, non-profit organization representing the Iranian-American community in pursuit of a US policy toward Iran that ensures America’s national security by promoting human rights and democracy. They are not funded by either the US or Iran’s government.
Recently, the United Nations voted for investigation of the crimes happening in Iran (raping the protesters in jails, killing of the unarmed people specially in the province of Kurdistan): https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran which is all thanks to the news being shared and people not keeping silent. You can make a difference. Every voice matters.
