Canadian academics continue to put pressure on the federal government to press the Islamic Republic of Iran to free Concordia professor Homa Hoodfar.
Professor Hoodfar was imprisoned in Iran after being indicted in July on unknown charges. Dr. Hoodfar, an Iranian-Canadian, was first arrested in her Tehran residence in March by the counter-intelligence unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards just before she was scheduled to come back to Canada. The authorities seized her personal computer, cellphone and passport and she was forbidden to leave the country.
Dr. Hoodfar is a professor in the department of sociology and anthropology at Concordia University, in Montreal. She specializes in anthropology and women studies, and has published widely on gender and development, Islamic family law, refugees, informal economies, Muslim dress codes, and women’s political participation.