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Yasaman Bagheri is an Iranian-born writer, former refugee, community advocate and Law and Criminal Justice student based in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand.
Yasaman’s journey has been shaped by displacement, resistance and a determination to reclaim her future. In 2013, at the age of 15, she left Iran with her family after experiencing religious and political persecution. Seeking safety in Australia, they arrived by boat, but Yasaman then spent much of her adolescence within Australia’s detention system. Over approximately five years, she was held across Christmas Island, Darwin and the offshore detention regime on Nauru.
Those years placed enormous barriers between Yasaman and the ordinary ambitions of a teenage girl. Her freedom, education and ability to plan for her future were restricted. During her time on Nauru, she began finding ways to make her voice heard. She communicated with journalists and advocates outside the island, shared accounts of life inside detention, and began using writing and poetry as forms of expression and resistance.
In 2018, Yasaman was medically evacuated from Nauru to Australia. Her writing later became part of literary and advocacy projects amplifying the experiences of refugees, women and people affected by forced displacement.
Today, Yasaman is rebuilding the opportunities that were interrupted during her adolescence. She studies Law and Criminal Justice and works as a restorative justice facilitator in Christchurch. She is involved in refugee and ethnic community advocacy as a youth leader and mentor, participates in initiatives supporting meaningful refugee participation, and serves in community governance.
Her journey from a teenage girl forced to leave Iran, through offshore detention, to studying law and helping others navigate systems of justice reflects a continuing belief in resistance, dignity and the ability of women and girls to shape their own futures.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#DayOfTheGirl
#YasamanBagheri
#RefugeeVoices
#Nauru
#Iran
#HunmanRights
Yasaman’s journey has been shaped by displacement, resistance and a determination to reclaim her future. In 2013, at the age of 15, she left Iran with her family after experiencing religious and political persecution. Seeking safety in Australia, they arrived by boat, but Yasaman then spent much of her adolescence within Australia’s detention system. Over approximately five years, she was held across Christmas Island, Darwin and the offshore detention regime on Nauru.
Those years placed enormous barriers between Yasaman and the ordinary ambitions of a teenage girl. Her freedom, education and ability to plan for her future were restricted. During her time on Nauru, she began finding ways to make her voice heard. She communicated with journalists and advocates outside the island, shared accounts of life inside detention, and began using writing and poetry as forms of expression and resistance.
In 2018, Yasaman was medically evacuated from Nauru to Australia. Her writing later became part of literary and advocacy projects amplifying the experiences of refugees, women and people affected by forced displacement.
Today, Yasaman is rebuilding the opportunities that were interrupted during her adolescence. She studies Law and Criminal Justice and works as a restorative justice facilitator in Christchurch. She is involved in refugee and ethnic community advocacy as a youth leader and mentor, participates in initiatives supporting meaningful refugee participation, and serves in community governance.
Her journey from a teenage girl forced to leave Iran, through offshore detention, to studying law and helping others navigate systems of justice reflects a continuing belief in resistance, dignity and the ability of women and girls to shape their own futures.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#DayOfTheGirl
#YasamanBagheri
#RefugeeVoices
#Nauru
#Iran
#HunmanRights
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Nilofar Ayoubi is an Afghan women’s and human rights defender, journalist, entrepreneur, humanitarian advocate, and international speaker whose life reflects a lifelong commitment to freedom, equality, and women’s voices.
Growing up in conservative northern Afghanistan, Nilofar spent much of her childhood as bacha posh—a social phenomenon in which girls are raised and presented as boys, often for different reasons, including families without sons or without a male breadwinner. In Nilofar’s case, however, she became bacha posh simply because she wanted to experience the freedom and opportunities of a normal childhood—freedoms that were largely unavailable to girls around her. Under the name Zmaray, meaning “lion” in Pashto, she could move more freely, feel safer, and continue her education.
Living as a boy from an early age gave Nilofar firsthand experience of the stark differences between the freedoms afforded to boys and the restrictions placed on girls. That experience shaped her determination to create a society where girls would not have to hide who they are in order to access basic rights and opportunities.
She went on to become a journalist and entrepreneur, creating employment opportunities for many women, founding the Women’s Political Participation Network, and co-founding the #WhereIsMyName campaign. Her humanitarian work has included supporting hundreds of Afghan families during COVID-19 and helping relocate more than 200 people at high risk of persecution following the Taliban’s return to power.
After leaving Afghanistan in 2021, Nilofar continued her advocacy from exile, speaking internationally about Afghan women’s rights, democracy, independent media, and freedom. She has served as the CEO of Asia Times Afghanistan and is the co-founder of Radio Free Women, amplifying the voices of women increasingly excluded from public life.
From a girl who once lived as a boy simply to experience the freedoms of childhood, Nilofar has become a voice for women seeking the same freedom to live, speak, learn, and participate fully in society. Her journey reflects how a personal experience of inequality can become a lifelong commitment to creating greater freedom and opportunity for others.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#DayOfTheGirl
#NilofarAyoubi
#GenderApartheid
#Afghanistan
#HunmanRights
Growing up in conservative northern Afghanistan, Nilofar spent much of her childhood as bacha posh—a social phenomenon in which girls are raised and presented as boys, often for different reasons, including families without sons or without a male breadwinner. In Nilofar’s case, however, she became bacha posh simply because she wanted to experience the freedom and opportunities of a normal childhood—freedoms that were largely unavailable to girls around her. Under the name Zmaray, meaning “lion” in Pashto, she could move more freely, feel safer, and continue her education.
Living as a boy from an early age gave Nilofar firsthand experience of the stark differences between the freedoms afforded to boys and the restrictions placed on girls. That experience shaped her determination to create a society where girls would not have to hide who they are in order to access basic rights and opportunities.
She went on to become a journalist and entrepreneur, creating employment opportunities for many women, founding the Women’s Political Participation Network, and co-founding the #WhereIsMyName campaign. Her humanitarian work has included supporting hundreds of Afghan families during COVID-19 and helping relocate more than 200 people at high risk of persecution following the Taliban’s return to power.
After leaving Afghanistan in 2021, Nilofar continued her advocacy from exile, speaking internationally about Afghan women’s rights, democracy, independent media, and freedom. She has served as the CEO of Asia Times Afghanistan and is the co-founder of Radio Free Women, amplifying the voices of women increasingly excluded from public life.
From a girl who once lived as a boy simply to experience the freedoms of childhood, Nilofar has become a voice for women seeking the same freedom to live, speak, learn, and participate fully in society. Her journey reflects how a personal experience of inequality can become a lifelong commitment to creating greater freedom and opportunity for others.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#DayOfTheGirl
#NilofarAyoubi
#GenderApartheid
#Afghanistan
#HunmanRights
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Mahsa Piraei’s story is one of freedom, migration, loss, and an enduring search for justice.
Before leaving Iran, Mahsa was active and loved sports and enjoying life. But outside the safety of her family home, compulsory hijab, social restrictions, and fear of the authorities increasingly shaped her everyday life. From a young age, she learned that speaking openly about politics and religion could have consequences, and that she sometimes had to hide parts of her identity in public.
She was detained several times by the morality police because of her hijab and appearance. During one detention, a male officer deliberately injured her foot and intimidated her. Terrified of what might happen, she was too afraid to contact her family. Even after arriving in the UK, that fear stayed with her; for years, seeing a police officer could trigger anxiety and the feeling that she had done something wrong.
Mahsa also experienced discrimination because of her family’s Yarsan background, including hearing people in positions of authority describe Yarsan people as “unclean” or “unworthy.”
The most devastating moment of her life came in September 2022. While Mahsa was in the UK speaking with friends about the protests following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, her mother, Minoo Majidi, was taking part in demonstrations in her hometown of Kermanshah. She was shot and killed in the street, reportedly struck by more than 160 pellets. Mahsa learned of her mother’s death the following day.
Leaving Iran had not meant leaving fear behind. Years later, the violence she believed she had escaped reached her family and took her mother from her.
For Mahsa, justice is not about revenge. It is about truth and accountability. She hopes that one day, in a fair and independent courtroom, everyone responsible for her mother’s killing will be held accountable—from those who carried out the shooting to those who gave the orders.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#DayOfTheGirl
#MahsaPiraei
#MinooMajidi
#WomanLifeFreedom
#Iran
#HunmanRights
Before leaving Iran, Mahsa was active and loved sports and enjoying life. But outside the safety of her family home, compulsory hijab, social restrictions, and fear of the authorities increasingly shaped her everyday life. From a young age, she learned that speaking openly about politics and religion could have consequences, and that she sometimes had to hide parts of her identity in public.
She was detained several times by the morality police because of her hijab and appearance. During one detention, a male officer deliberately injured her foot and intimidated her. Terrified of what might happen, she was too afraid to contact her family. Even after arriving in the UK, that fear stayed with her; for years, seeing a police officer could trigger anxiety and the feeling that she had done something wrong.
Mahsa also experienced discrimination because of her family’s Yarsan background, including hearing people in positions of authority describe Yarsan people as “unclean” or “unworthy.”
The most devastating moment of her life came in September 2022. While Mahsa was in the UK speaking with friends about the protests following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, her mother, Minoo Majidi, was taking part in demonstrations in her hometown of Kermanshah. She was shot and killed in the street, reportedly struck by more than 160 pellets. Mahsa learned of her mother’s death the following day.
Leaving Iran had not meant leaving fear behind. Years later, the violence she believed she had escaped reached her family and took her mother from her.
For Mahsa, justice is not about revenge. It is about truth and accountability. She hopes that one day, in a fair and independent courtroom, everyone responsible for her mother’s killing will be held accountable—from those who carried out the shooting to those who gave the orders.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#DayOfTheGirl
#MahsaPiraei
#MinooMajidi
#WomanLifeFreedom
#Iran
#HunmanRights
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For more than three years, Zhino Beigzadeh Babamiri has been fighting for the freedom of her father, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, and for justice in his case.
Rezgar, a Kurdish farmer from Bukan and a father of three, was arrested in April 2023 in connection with the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests. According to his family, his only act was providing medicine and medical supplies to wounded protesters.
In a letter written from prison, Rezgar described being subjected to torture during interrogation, including electric shocks and mock executions, and said he was coerced into making forced confessions.
In July 2025, Branch 1 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death on charges including "baghi" (armed rebellion) and "espionage." The proceedings failed to meet even the most basic standards of a fair trial.
Zhino was the first to make the sentence public, and since then she has been her father's voice in the media and before international bodies.
Rezgar's death sentences were later overturned by Iran's Supreme Court. Yet more than 40 months after his arrest, he remains in Urmia central prison, his legal status still unresolved.
On the International Day of the Girl, Zhino's story is a reminder of the price that girls and women in Iran pay for speaking the truth and seeking justice.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#DayOfTheGirl
#ZhinoBabamiri
#RezgarBabamiri
#WomanLifeFreedom
#Iran
#HunmanRights
Rezgar, a Kurdish farmer from Bukan and a father of three, was arrested in April 2023 in connection with the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests. According to his family, his only act was providing medicine and medical supplies to wounded protesters.
In a letter written from prison, Rezgar described being subjected to torture during interrogation, including electric shocks and mock executions, and said he was coerced into making forced confessions.
In July 2025, Branch 1 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death on charges including "baghi" (armed rebellion) and "espionage." The proceedings failed to meet even the most basic standards of a fair trial.
Zhino was the first to make the sentence public, and since then she has been her father's voice in the media and before international bodies.
Rezgar's death sentences were later overturned by Iran's Supreme Court. Yet more than 40 months after his arrest, he remains in Urmia central prison, his legal status still unresolved.
On the International Day of the Girl, Zhino's story is a reminder of the price that girls and women in Iran pay for speaking the truth and seeking justice.
@iranhrdc
#ThroughHerEyes
#InternationalDayOfTheGirl
#DayOfTheGirl
#ZhinoBabamiri
#RezgarBabamiri
#WomanLifeFreedom
#Iran
#HunmanRights