Symposium Student Reflection: Yeganeh Salahi

Reflecting on Yeganeh's talk what is one new or surprising thing you learned about Iranian culture, and what are your overall thoughts on what Yeganeh described as one's own inner 'empowerment,' or strength to get through hard times?

Listening to Yeganeh Rezaian speak was incredibly interesting and inspiring. I would never have been able to guess that such a positive person had been affected by such negative circumstances. Yeganeh seemed so happy to be with us and to be able to speak. She was engaging and I really felt that she was speaking with us, and not at us.

Hearing of Yeganeh’s life in Iran prior to her arrest reminded me a lot of my experience living in Saudi Arabia. The strict religious laws surrounding clothing and the attitudes surrounding freedom of speech and liberalism are the same in both Tehran and Riyadh. Yeganeh’s life in Iran was also very different than my life in Saudi Arabia though, and as she spoke I recognized the privileges I had. I was able to go to an American international school and live in a Western compound, where I could have more freedoms than I would outside of those walls. Like Yeganeh’s husband, Jason Rezaian, I was always protected as an American by the embassy.

            When talking to other girls in my cohort before the symposium and discussing potential questions to ask Yeganeh, a lot of us were very curious about the conditions of the prison that Yeganeh was held in, and her experience in solitary confinement. Although I wanted to know too, I felt cautious about asking Yeganeh about such a traumatic experience. Yeganeh answered questions about her time in prison in a powerful way, focusing on the strength that got her through inhumane conditions. I thought of Yeganeh’s positive demeanor and her many accomplishments in her career, and I thought of how she could do so much good after such bad things happened to her.

            I think a lot of people take what they have for granted. I know that the first few weeks of living in the U.S. again were very emotional for me personally, because I hadn’t realized how many freedoms I had been missing out on by living in Riyadh. Listening to Yeganeh’s story made me realize even more aspects of my life that I have been taking for granted. As a strong female leader, Yeganeh Rezaian embodied resilience, passion, and positivity.

Vanessa Law,WLP/ IAC, 2017-18