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In June 2000, Shokooh Mirzadegi
registered a non-profit organization under the above name in Colorado. The
Constitution document of the Center says:
1. The historical evidence shows that all through the
history of Iran and other Persian speaking nations, most of the
writings and books that have been totally lost and forgotten have been
created by women. Apart from shortcoming such as the difficulty of
publication and the scarcity of means of preservation, that equally applies
to the works of men, the prevalence of bigotry and fanaticism, as well as
patriarchic hegemony has caused this loss.
2. Even today, with the modern means of production and
publication, as well as the existence of numerous libraries and document
centers, the danger of losing the works and forgetting the names of our
creative women is a real and active one.
3. This situation is more serious outside of Iran.
Books published here, especially if rendering a feminist stand, are not
allowed to enter Iran. Many works of art, pictures and shows with unveiled
women in them are forbidden. They even censure foreign magazines by tearing
off or covering with black markers any page that has pictures of unveiled
women. Thus, the disconnect between our cultural products outside of Iran is
more highlighted in the case of women.
It is upon these premises that SCDIW is being formed.
Our goals are two-folded: One the one hand, we endeavor to collect and
gather as many documents as possible that are relevant to life and works of
Iranian women. The documents could be in the shape of books, pictures,
video, shows, paintings and whatever else that are created by women. On the
other hand, the center will try to help researches on woman issues by
providing sources for them.
In the last 5 years, and despite the difficulties we
have had in securing a suitable place for the center, the idea has been
welcomed by Iranian writers and artists scattered all over the world. A
small collection of books is now available and endeavors for finding a
permanent place for the documents are being made.
Anybody interested in donating her/his works to the
center can
contact us and
we will find the best way of delivery for the donors
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