Victoria Jamali
Iranian environmental activist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Victoria Jamali, in Persian: ویکتوریا جمالی, is an environmental rights activist and expert in environment law from Iran. She was a founding member of the Women’s Society Against Environmental Pollution and founded the Iranian Society of Environmental Law.
Victoria Jamali | |
|---|---|
ویکتوریا جمالی | |
| Citizenship | Iran |
| Occupations | Academic; Environmentalist |
| Known for | Women’s Society Against Environmental Pollution; Iranian Environmental Law Society |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Aberdeen |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Environmental Law |
| Institutions | University of Tehran |
Education
Jamali graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1974, with a Masters qualification in rural and regional resource planning.[1]
Career
After graduation she returned to Iran and began work at the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Tehran.[1] The Institute continued despite changes wrought by the Iranian Revolution (1978-1979) and the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). By 1997 it was able to flourish.[1]
Earlier in the 1990s, Jamali had been approached by her colleague at the University of Tehran, Mahlagha Mallah, to establish an organisation dedicated to women and the environment in Iran.[2] In 1993 they founded the Women’s Society Against Environmental Pollution (WSAEP).[3] In 1999 and 2001 she took part in two research visits to the USA sponsored by Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide.[4]
By 2001, Jamali was Assistant Professor in the Graduate Faculty of Environment at the University of Tehran and was leading research in environmental law in Iran.[4] She founded Iran's first society for environmental law - the Iranian Society of Environmental Law.[4] In 2002 she founded Iran's first environmental law programme, which drew comparisons between her and the American environmentalist John Muir.[5] In order for the programme to be passed she had to convince senior male colleague at Tehran University of its legitimacy.[1] This Environmental Programme, begun by Jamali, had support from the Iranian Vice-President Masoomeh Ebtekar in 2003.[6]
Jamali has been prominent in campaigns including those advocating for reduction in air pollution and protection of the Persian cheetah. She has been vocal about a lack of environmental protection in general in Iran.[5]
As part of her work with Women’s Society Against Environmental Pollution, Jamali edits the journal فرياد زمين (Faryad-e-Zamin - Cry of the Earth).[7] Jamali has published on environmental law as part of her research and has translated academic articles to Persian from English.[8]