Roya Toloui
Encyclopedia
Roya Toloui is a prominent Kurdish
-Iran
ian journalist
, human rights
activist and feminist, currently residing in US
. She was born in Baneh
in western Iran
. She received high school diploma at Baneh and studied pathology
at the University of Mashhad.
She was the editor-in-chief of Rasan (Rising up), a Kurdish
monthly magazine about women's issues. Three issues of the magazine were published in Sanandaj
in spring and summer of 2005 until it was closed down in the summer of 2005 by the Iranian judiciary. She is the founder of the Association of the Kurdish Women Supporting Peace in Kurdistan. She is also a member of the Kurdish PEN
.
Due to her outspoken criticism of authorities as well as defence of the rights of Kurdish and Iranian women, she was tried in a Revolutionary Court in April 2005 and was accused of endangering national security.
Following demonstrations in Kurdish inhabited areas of western Iran, she was arrested on 2 August 2005, and held in prison for 66 days until freed on bail in October 2005. Her case of imprisonment was highlighted in the International PEN
's Day of the Imprisoned Writer on November 2005. After her release, she fled Iran for Turkey
and finally she sought refuge in the United States
in April 2006.
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
-Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist and feminist, currently residing in US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She was born in Baneh
Baneh
Baneh is a city in and capital of Baneh County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 69,635, in 15,857 families....
in western Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. She received high school diploma at Baneh and studied pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
at the University of Mashhad.
She was the editor-in-chief of Rasan (Rising up), a Kurdish
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
monthly magazine about women's issues. Three issues of the magazine were published in Sanandaj
Sanandaj
Sanandaj , also Romanized as Senneh and Sinneh) is a city in and the capital of Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 311,446, in 81,380 families....
in spring and summer of 2005 until it was closed down in the summer of 2005 by the Iranian judiciary. She is the founder of the Association of the Kurdish Women Supporting Peace in Kurdistan. She is also a member of the Kurdish PEN
Kurdish PEN
Kurdish PEN or The Kurdish Centre of the International PEN is a branch of International PEN. It was suggested by Kurdish writer Hüseyin Erdem and voted into existence during International PEN's conference in Cambridge in 1988...
.
Due to her outspoken criticism of authorities as well as defence of the rights of Kurdish and Iranian women, she was tried in a Revolutionary Court in April 2005 and was accused of endangering national security.
Following demonstrations in Kurdish inhabited areas of western Iran, she was arrested on 2 August 2005, and held in prison for 66 days until freed on bail in October 2005. Her case of imprisonment was highlighted in the International PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
's Day of the Imprisoned Writer on November 2005. After her release, she fled Iran for Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and finally she sought refuge in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in April 2006.