#rp23 keynote speakers Gilda Sahebi and Natalie Amiri: Woman, Life, Freedom

Since the violent death of the Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the morality police last autumn, the protests against the regime in Iran have become louder and louder. Together with the Kurdish minority, whose resistance goes back to the 1979 revolution, the population is fighting in solidarity for "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" – "Woman, Life, Freedom".

How has the political and social situation in the Islamic Republic developed? What can be done to counter the terrible brutality of the regime? How do we give the Iranian people a voice and ensure that global attention does not diminish? At re:publica 2023, we will take a look at the current human rights situation in Iran with journalists Gilda Sahebi and Natalie Amiri. In their journalistic work, both experts address the different aspects of the revolt, from its beginnings to the long history of oppression and the feminist perspective.

Gilda Sahebi, born in Iran and raised in Germany, is a trained physician and political sciencist. She works as a freelance journalist with a focus on anti-Semitism and racism, women's rights, the Middle East and science. She is an author for the "taz" and the "Spiegel" and works for ARD, among others. Since the death of Jina Mahsa Amini and the subsequent protest movement, she has been tirelessly reporting on events in Iran, both via her social media channels and as an interlocutor in various talk shows."Focus" named her one of the "100 Women of the Year" in 2022, and "Medium Magazin" named her Journalist of the Year in the category of politics. Her current book "Unser Schwert ist Liebe – Die feministische Revolte im Iran" was published at the beginning of March 2023.

Natalie Amiri grew up in Munich. She studied Oriental Studies and Islamic Studies in Bamberg, Tehran and Damascus. Natalie became known for her courageous investigative research, astute commentary and engaging interviews and reportages. Her award-winning documentaries include her ARD documentary "Death off Lampedusa - Europe's Fall from Grace", as well as the Grimme Award-nominated documentary: "Disappeared in Germany". In 2019, Amiri was nominated for the German Television Award as best foreign correspondent. She headed the ARD bureau in Tehran since 2015, but had to relinquish the management of the Tehran television studio in May 2020 following an entry warning from the German Foreign Office. In 2021, she was named Germany's best political journalist by "Medium Magazin". With her bestseller "Zwischen den Welten. Von Macht und Ohnmacht im Iran" (2021), she aims to give the people of Iran a voice. In 2021, she travelled to Afghanistan 100 days after the Taliban took power and subsequently published the book "Afghanistan – Unbesiegter Verlierer" in March 2022. 

The human rights situation in Iran must not be forgotten. At #rp23, Gilda Sahebi and Natalie Amiri will report on the current situation. The discussion will be moderated by journalist and podcaster Tilo Jung. Natalie Amiri has already been a guest in his interview format "Jung und Naiv".