Open Wide the Doors: Memory, Resistance, and the Lived Experience of Exclusion
23 Nov 2026 | 14:00-15:30
Online Zoom link: https://aboakademi.zoom.us/j/63873181730
Meeting ID: 638 7318 1730
We warmly invite faculty members, students, and scholars of Religion Studies, Gender Studies, Minority Studies, Social Exclusion Studies, Human Rights, Sociology, and related fields to join a conversation with Dr. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, one of the English translators of Open Wide the Doors, the compelling memoir of acclaimed Bahá’í poet and writer Mahvash Sabet. Based on her years of imprisonment in Iran, the memoir offers an intimate reflection on faith, resilience, and the search for dignity in the face of persecution and exclusion.
Using the memoir as a starting point, the discussion will explore broader questions that resonate across multiple disciplines: the relationship between religion and state power, the experiences of marginalized and minority communities, the intersections of gender and identity, and the ways individuals navigate injustice and social exclusion. We will also consider how personal narratives can preserve memory, challenge dominant accounts of history, and make visible the human realities behind discrimination and repression.
Through selected passages from the book, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the experiences of the Bahá’í community in Iran while engaging with wider debates on belonging, citizenship, agency, resilience, testimony, and the power of storytelling in contexts of oppression and social inequality.
Speaker: Dr. Bahiyyih Nakhjavani
Moderator: Dr. Raha Sabet Sarvestany
More information about Mahvash Sabet and her work: https://mahvashsabet.com/
