I Am a Feminist: Claiming the F-Word in Turbulent Times by Monique Polak
Finalist for The QWF Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature in 2019
What is feminism? Why does it still matter? What exactly does intersectionality mean? In order to answer these (and many other) questions, I Am a Feminist first examines the history of feminism and then addresses the issues girls and women continue to face today. The book also looks at the ways in which people, especially young people, are working together to create a world where gender equality is a reality, not a dream. The author shares stories about the courageous individuals who have made a difference in the lives of women and girls worldwide. From suffragists to the #MeToo movement, I Am a Feminist encourages readers to stand up and speak out for equality and justice.
Extract
I have an interview with Homa Hoodfar….
Everyone I know in Montreal has heard of her. Most of us signed the petition, begun by one of her colleagues at Concordia University, demanding that she be released from Evin Prison, the most notorious jail in Tehran, Iran.
In September 2016, thanks in part to the outcry from the international community, Hoodfar… was freed after 112 days in prison. You must be wondering what she was charged with. Was she a thief? A cyber-criminal? Maybe even a murderer.
No. Hoodfar was accused of “dabbling in feminism.” At the time of her arrest she was in Tehran doing research for a book about women in Iranian politics….
“They took me from court to jail. I didn’t have my medication for my blood condition. I couldn’t sleep. The light was on all the time…. I was mostly alone in my cell,” Hoodfar told me.
Prison authorities knew how much writing meant to Hoodfar. That was why she was forbidden to have pen and paper…. “I used the tail of my toothbrush to write on the wall….” she explained.
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