Jila Baniyaghoob

Baniyaghoob was born on 21 August 1970, in Iran.[4] As a young child in Iran, Baniyaghoob was exposed to the political atmosphere very young.[4] She was surrounded by chaos and political influence for most of her childhood, but it wasn't until 1979 when Jila Baniyaghoob became a journalist.[4] She was 11 years old at the time when she wrote and published a short story about children and poverty in a major daily newspaper called Kayhan.[5] While she was young, many of her teachers encouraged her talent in writing.[5] These teachers were politically engaged against the conservative who had taken over the country of Iran, some of which were arrested and persecuted for their political views.[5] This gave Baniyaghoob the insight behind the political atmosphere starting from a young age and used it as an early building block for her career in covering politics as well as the economic factors of discrimination against women.[5]

Baniyaghoob began her career as a journalist while working for the daily newspaper Hamshahri while attending college at Allameh Tabatabayi University.[6] Baniyaghoob has worked for many publications since college such as Sarmayeh newspaper, and now as editor-in-chief of the website Kanoon Zanan Irani where contributors inside and outside of Iran provide news about women's issues.[6][7] Her site has been repeatedly filtered by the Iranian government.[7] Baniyaghoob is known for being a freelance Iranian reporter, author, and activist who focuses her reporting on how government and social oppression affect women.[7] As a journalist, Baniyaghoob has faced numerous ramifications and has been arrested, beaten and imprisoned on numerous occasions for her reporting.[7] While working for the Sarmayeh newspaper, Baniyaghoob started a column on women's economy, which featured interviews with experts on the gender issues of economics.[7] The column was canceled in 2008 by the paper's management.[7] Baniyaghoob traveled throughout the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria from 2001–2002.[7] She has written about women and refugees she encountered on her trip, covering issues of social and legal discrimination.[7] Baniyaghoob was arrested in June 2006, when security forces attacked a peaceful gathering of women's rights activists in front of the University of Tehran, where she was covering the event for Sarmayeh.[7] She was also arrested in March 2007 while covering those who opposed the Islamic Revolutionary Court's trial of women's rights activists.[7] She was imprisoned in a wing of Tehran's Elvin prison where she was blindfolded and subjected to numerous interrogations by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry who operate the prison.[7] She was later sent to prison in September 2008 after being found guilty of "disruption of public order, failure to obey police orders and propagandizing against the Islamic regime.[6] Most recently she was arrested in June 2009 while covering the post-election protests in Iran and was later released in August.[6] In 2010, Iran sentenced Baniyaghoob to jail for one year and banned her from writing for over 30 years over post-election unrest.[8]

Baniyaghoob is a founding member of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality, which aims to change the discriminatory laws against women in Iran.[6] She has also published a book, Journalists in Iran.[6] Her book documents the experiences of Iranian journalists and women under duress, as well as some of her own experiences.[6] Baniyaghoob also published a second book, Women of Evin: Ward 209, which is based on her firsthand observations of women prisoners in Evin Prison in Tehran and will be published outside of Iran.[9]

In 2008, she was imprisoned a third time for covering a women's rally, on charges of "disruption of public order, failure to obey police orders and propagandizing against the Islamic regime".[1]

Beginning in June 2009, Iran saw widespread protests following a disputed election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected amid allegations of voter fraud. On the night of 20 June, both Baniyaghoob and her husband were arrested at their home by plainclothes police officers, as part of a general crackdown on journalists.[10] Amou'i was jailed that year on charges of "gathering and colluding with intent to harm national security", "spreading propaganda against the system", "disrupting public security" and "insulting the president".[3] In 2010, Baniyaghoob was tried and convicted for "spreading propaganda against the system" and "insulting the president". The court banned her from practicing journalism for thirty years and sentenced her to a year in prison.[3]

On 2 September 2012, she was summoned to Evin Prison to begin the sentence.[3][11] Amnesty International designated her a prisoner of conscience, "held solely for peacefully exercising her rights to freedom of expression", and called for her to be released and allowed to resume her profession.[3]

In 2009, the International Women's Media Foundation awarded Baniyaghoob its Courage In Journalism prize, stating that she had "fearlessly reported on government and social oppression, particularly as they affect women".[12] The following year, she won the Freedom of Speech Award of Reporters Without Borders.[2] In 2009, the International Women's Media Foundation awarded Baniyaghoob its Courage in Journalism prize, stating that she had "fearlessly reported on government and social oppression, particularly as they affect women".[12] The following year, she won the Freedom of Speech Award of Reporters Without Borders.[2]

Baniyaghoob is known for her fearless reporting on the oppression of women and the government.[13] She refuses to censor her work and as a result, she has been fired from some media outlets.[13] She continues to travel through the Middle East to report on the lives of women and refugees. Her reporting continues to make her a target of the Iranian government.[13]

• Focus on Iranian Women website