Making History in Iran: the First Women’s Library

International women’s day is a historic date and often chosen as the kick-off for women’s initiatives around the world. This year on March 8, the first women’s library in Iran was born. With more than 2500 books, about 60 members, and more than ten volunteers, the library opened its doors to the public. A rented house in the heart of Tehran welcomed dozens of guests during the opening ceremony.

The credit for making the first women’s library in Iran a reality goes to the Iranian Women’s Cultural Centre (IWCC). The library represents two years of hard work. The IWCC started its activities in 2000 by celebrating International Women’s Day for the first time in 20 years in Tehran. Since then, they have organized activities every year on March 8. The IWCC also runs different projects to make sure that women’s issues and concerns are incorporated into the broader public agenda. To achieve this, IWCC has organized different work groups: the website group (www.iftribune.com), the seminar and workshop group, the health group, the legal group, and, finally, the library group. Each working group has attracted its own team of activists, supporters and experts. The library group in particular has grown rapidly as it is the IWCC’s biggest and most ambitious project.

The IWCC believes that local women’s participation is key. That is the reason why IWCC turned down funding offered by the Dutch development organization Hivos. “By knocking at women’s doors, asking them for a donation, for any possible assistance or simply for membership, we ensure their participation. It also brings new blood and vitality to the project,” emphasized Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani, from the IWCC library team. “The key to women’s participation is to rely on them, financially and professionally,” she added.

Can the library manage to survive on small donations and limited resources? “It will be difficult, but this way we build trust and bridges among ourselves. Of course, we are open to educational partnerships. Money comes and goes, but skills remain. We appreciate every woman’s contribution to supporting our work. There is a lot to be done: we need archival skills, database creation and management skills, we need to provide information to students in a best way possible, and more.”

How does the staff run the library? Noushin: “We are lucky to have students who are studying to become librarians. They are in charge of all the work that requires expertise. The rest of us try to collect women’s personal archives and libraries and to extend our collection. We have managed to divide the tasks in a way that enables us to keep the library open every day. Our landlord looks at all the women who come to the library daily and sometimes complains about all those visitors. But I reassure and comfort her by reminding her that this place, this building will have a place in the history of the Iranian women’s movement.”