Mahnaz Afkhami was born on on January 14 1941 In Kerman Iran where she lived until her parents were divorced and she moved with her mother to the United States. She completed her undergraduate studies in the United States before moving back to Iran to teach literature at the National University of Iran in 1967. Shortly after her return to Iran, Mahnaz was drawn into the women’s movement in Iran, founding the Association of University Women in 1969. The following year she became the Secretary General of the Women’s Organization of Iran. In 1975, Mahnaz was asked to become the Minister of Women’s Affairs, a post that had not existed prior to that year. Under her guidance as the Minister of Women’s Affairs, legislation was passed that raised the minimum age of marriage, supported women’s employment with maternity leave, and granted women’s equal rights in regards to divorce. Iran’s Islamic Revolution began in 1979, while Mahnaz was at the United Nations and she ultimately remained in political exile having been charged with “corruption on earth and warring with God” by the new government. In her exile, she published Women in Exile, a collection of activist women living in political exile. She has also served on a number of boards and committees, including the Global Fund for Women, Gender at Work, International Museum of Women, and the World Movement for Democracy. In addition to her work on boards, Mahnaz also became an advisor to Human Rights Watch and the Vice President & Executive Director of The Sisterhood is Global. Over her life, she has written a number of works that focus on feminism and global women’s movements including Towards Global Feminism, Women and the Law in Iran, and, Towards a Compassionate Society.