Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content

#370 - Gender Apartheid and the Future of Iran

Jun 6, 2024

Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist, discusses gender apartheid in Iran with Sam Harris and Yasmine Mohammed. They cover the Iranian revolution, hypocrisy of Western feminists, morality police, hijab significance, My Stealthy Freedom campaign, and U.S. government inaction. Topics include the cowardice of journalists, Iranian population versus Arab street, Persian Jews' perspective, Islamism and immigration, and university infiltration.

01:21:02

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Episode guests

Masih Alinejad

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Quick takeaways

The discussion sheds light on the hypocrisy of Western feminists in supporting oppressive regimes, emphasizing the need for global attention and actions on gender equality.

Iran's gender apartheid policy includes the disturbing use of rape as a tool of control, showcasing the challenges faced by women advocating for change.

The podcast delves into the broader impact of Islamic theocracy on societies, highlighting the nuanced understanding needed for cultural differences and political influences.

Deep dives

Sam Harris's Substack Venture and Writing Workshop

Sam Harris discusses his new venture on Substack where he aims to focus on writing, viewing it as a discipline that enhances his work. Substack will serve as both a workshop for his writing and a platform to engage with current events and amplify others' work. This initiative allows Harris to experiment with live video streaming and potentially commission work from other writers and scholars.

Intro

5min

Exploring Gender Apartheid in Iran with Prominent Activists

5min

Iranian Regime vs. People: a Clash of Beliefs

9min

Intersection of Politics and Feminism in Iran

24min

Gender Apartheid, Hostage Negotiations, and International Relations

2min

Challenges and Contradictions in Iran

17min

Challenges and Urgent Calls to Action Against Terrorism and Gender Apartheid

19min

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In today’s housekeeping, Sam explains his digital business model. He and Yasmine Mohammed (co-host) then speak with Masih Alinejad about gender apartheid in Iran. They discuss the Iranian revolution, the hypocrisy of Western feminists, the morality police and the significance of the hijab, the My Stealthy Freedom campaign, kidnapping and assassination plots against Masih, lack of action from the U.S. government, the effect of sanctions, the cowardice of Western journalists, the difference between the Iranian population and the Arab street, the unique perspective of Persian Jews, Islamism and immigration, the infiltration of universities, and other topics.

Yasmine Mohammed is the founder and president of Free Hearts Free Minds, a nonprofit charity that provides mental health support for freethinkers living in Muslim-majority countries—where the 'crime' of renouncing religion can be punished by execution.

Her book, Unveiled, is a memoir that recalls her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic household and her arranged marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda. In it, she sheds light on the religious trauma that so many women are still unable to discuss. Unveiled has been translated into fifteen languages so far, including German, Finnish, Catalan, Swedish, French, Farsi, Arabic, Indonesian, Urdu, Spanish, and Italian. Copies of her book in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, and Indonesian can be accessed here for free, courtesy of The Richard Dawkins Foundation.

She is also the host of the Yasmine Mohammed Podcast, where she has conversations with inspirational people from restrictive religious or cult backgrounds who have fought and overcome.

Website: www.yasminemohammed.com

Twitter: @yasmohammedxx

Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist, a women’s rights campaigner, and the author of the best-selling memoir The Wind in My Hair. In 2023, TIME named Alinejad one of the Women of the Year, and she was elected President of the World Liberty Congress. She is one of the most prominent and vocal figures challenging the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2014, she launched the My Stealthy Freedom campaign against compulsory hijab, which became the largest civil disobedience movement in the history of the Islamic Republic. Today, Masih continues to write and host Tablet, a satirical weekly show on VOA, and is campaigning to #EndGenderApartheid in Iran and Afghanistan.

Website: https://worldlibertycongress.org/

Twitter: @AlinejadMasih