Maryam Namazie
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- This article is about the political activist. For the journalist, see Maryam Nemazee.
Maryam Namazie is a communist political activist of Iranian descent. She is mainly known for her activities for women's rights, asylum seeker's rights, gay rights and for her fight against the Islamic republic and political Islam internationally. She is also the leader of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. [1]
Namazie is currently the secretary of the International Relations committee of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran and a current member of the politburo and coordinating council of the party. She is also a leader within the International Federation of Iranian Refugees, a current member of the central council of Organisation for Women's Liberation and one of the hosts on New Channel TV. She is hosting the "International TV" which is broadcast by NCTV and is the current editor of "WPI Briefing" (English organ of WPI).
Maryam Namazie was born in Tehran but left with her family in 1980 following the Islamic Revolution. Presently, she lives in the United Kingdom.
In 2005, Namazie won the UKs National Secular Society's "Secularist of the Year" award. This led to an increase of her fame internationally and Nick Cohen wrote an article about her in the Observer titled "One Woman's War". In 2006 the National Secular Society appointed her an Honorary Associate.
After the Muhammad cartoons controversy, she, together with 11 other activists, published a declaration named MANIFESTO: Together facing the new totalitarianism. MANIFESTO warned the world about the rise of Islamism as a new totalitarianism.
