Visit the exhibition of Iranian artists called Women, life, freedom in the foyer of the university sports and behavioral health building at the new UO City Campus. The opening of the exhibition will take place on Tuesday, April 4, at 14:00.

Iranian artists Shimay, Yasmina Golshani and Soroush Sanaei will exhibit their works. The exhibition is also a part of the University of Ostrava’s activities to promote freedom and respect for human rights in Iran. In November last year, Ostrava academics invited the international academic community and the public to join the Ostrava Initiative for the Support of Freedom and Human Rights in Iran.

Last autumn, Ostrava academics published an Open letter from Iranians living in the free world on the global petition platform change.org and called on the leadership of Czech and international universities, students, and all those who care about the situation in Iran to sign it.

“We consider it our duty to speak out against the blatant disregard for human rights and to spread awareness of the suffering of the people in Iran. We want to lead students to take an interest in society and to take responsibility for how it is run, so we ourselves cannot be indifferent to these appalling events,” says Renáta Tomášková, Vice-Rector for International Relations at the University of Ostrava.

We want to lead students to take an interest in society and to take responsibility for how it is run, so we ourselves cannot be indifferent to these appalling events.

“Unfortunately, many people still think in stereotypes and trust the false idea that the regime in Iran is what the majority wants for the Iranian society. In my entire career, I have never met a colleague from Iran who would support the regime. None of them have ever been insensitive or presented themselves as superior to women. On the contrary, they actively fight the regime. Their situation is comparable to the situation in the Czech society in 1980s. The dramatic difference, however, is that the Islamic regime represses their protests with a brutality beyond our imagination. And they have enormous courage to face this brutality,” says Martin Štěpnička, Vice-Rector for Research and Creative Activities at the University of Ostrava and one of the organizers of the Ostrava Initiative for Supporting Freedom and Human Rights in Iran.

As part of the activities to promote freedom and respect for human rights in Iran, the originally planned online lecture by Iranian writer, journalist and academic Dr. Mahmud Farjami will also take place soon. His professional work focuses, among other things, on political satire. We will inform you of the exact date of the lecture in due course.