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News release details
Jailed Iranian‐Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari – whose best‐selling memoir was the basis for Jon Stewart’s film Rosewater – will speak at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) on Tuesday, March 26.
Co‐hosted by the Museum and the Bahá’í Community of Canada, this free public event will relay stories of persecution and discrimination in Iran following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and the resilience and perseverance of those affected.
Bahari is a journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist who was a reporter for Newsweek magazine from 1999 to 2011. He was incarcerated by the Iranian government for five months in 2009 and wrote a memoir called Then They Came for Me, the basis for the 2014 film by Stewart, an American producer, director and political commentator who formerly hosted the satirical TV news program “The Daily Show.”
Bahari later founded the IranWire citizen journalism news site, the freedom‐of‐expression campaign “Journalism is Not a Crime” and the street art for social justice project “Paint the Change.” He now lives in London, England.
WHAT: Maziar Bahari to speak at Museum
WHEN: Tuesday, March 26 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: CMHR, 85 Israel Asper Way
Manitoba Teachers’ Society Classrooms, Level 1
Access through Group Entrance
Afsoon Houshidari, a Toronto refugee lawyer and storyteller, will also participate in the event, performing a monologue about her own family’s journey to Canada. A panel discussion will follow the presentations, which will include Dr. Geoffrey Cameron, Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the Bahá’í Community of Canada. Space at the event is limited, so seating is first come, first served.
Bahari works closely with Bahá'í Community to tell their stories of resilience in the face of oppression. The Bahá'ís are Iran’s largest religious minority and have faced systematic persecution. Deprived of their right to access higher education, they have responded by creating the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). Despite regular attacks by government forces, the BIHE educates thousands of Iranian Bahá'ís through innovative educational programs. Canadian universities were among the first worldwide to admit BIHE graduates to post‐graduate programs based on their BIHE transcripts.
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This release is more than two years old
This release is more than two years old. For additional information, please contact Amanda Gaudes from our Media Relations team.