NPR's Book of the Day – "For the Sun After Long Nights": Exploring Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom Movement

Air Date: October 6, 2025
Host: Jane Clayson (for NPR)
Guest: Fatemeh Jamalpour (Co-author, journalist)

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the new book For the Sun After Long Nights: The Story of Iran's Women-Led Uprising by Fatemeh Jamalpour and Nilo Tabrizi, recently longlisted for the National Book Award. The conversation dives into the origins, experiences, and enduring legacy of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement in Iran, sparked by the 2022 death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police. Fatemeh Jamalpour shares firsthand accounts of the protests, the courage of young Iranians, and the personal consequences of documenting this history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Beginning: Death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini and the Uprising

• Event: In 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa (Jina) Amini died after being beaten in custody for dress code violations.
• Legacy: Her death ignited massive, women-led protests across Iran, resulting in state violence and severe crackdowns.
• Symbolism:
  • "On her tombstone her father wrote, 'dear Gina, you will not die. Your name will become a symbol.'" (Glenn Weldon, 00:16)
• Scale: At least 2 million people demonstrated, marking one of Iran’s largest uprisings in decades.
  • "Her death sparked the Woman Life Freedom movement, one of the largest uprisings in Iran in decades. It's estimated that at least 2 million people took to the streets." (Jane Clayson, 01:25)

2. Experiencing the Protests: An Insider’s Perspective

• Atmosphere in Tehran:
  • "It was just witnessing people's courage to be in the street and protest. Each of the walls were covered with graffiti and protest slogans... especially young women and LGBTQ people." (Fatemeh Jamalpour, 02:31)
• Risks & Sacrifice: Young people braved tear gas and bullets for the dream of a "free Iran."
• Personal Danger:
  • Jamalpour was interrogated 16 times, faced threats of imprisonment, and was shot by rubber bullets.
    • "For me, it was like facing the whole ideological core of the regime in one session." (Jamalpour, 03:25)
    • "We only want our agency, our control over our bodies, and it's a basic human right." (Jamalpour, 03:41)
    • "They always threatened me with five years of prison." (Jamalpour, 03:54)

3. Everyday Oppression and Generational Change

• Women's Lives in Iran:
  • Normalized suffering: child and forced marriage, domestic violence, and "lives without love."
    • "These women's lives were far from ordinary, or at least should have been." (Jane Clayson, 04:39)
  • "My generation grew up in the post-revolutionary ideological society where everything were banned for women. Entering a stadium were banned, listening to pop music were banned... And I think it was the way that my generation grew up to be rebellion and demanding, you know, being free from this gender apartheid society." (Jamalpour, 04:58)
• Contrast Between Generations:
  • Older generations sought gradual reform; Gen Z acts with boldness and public defiance.
  • "My generation used to hide their faces from security cameras, but this new generation humiliates them by showing victory signs to their faces." (Jamalpour, 05:49)

4. The Power of Young Women and Schoolgirls

• Protest Tactics:
  • "We carry our scarf over our shoulder... all these young teenage students walk across the security forces without any scarf. Then I got ashamed and I put my scarf in my bag and I said, I continue without hijab. They made me more brave." (Jamalpour, 06:11)
• Memorable Moments:
  • Schoolgirls tearing down political leaders' photos, attending protests after school.
    • "'Auntie, we took the founder of Islamic Republic, Khamenei and Khomeini photo from the wall. We turned them apart, we jumped over them, we took off our scarf in the school.'" (Jamalpour recounts her niece, 07:22)
• Brutal Crackdown:
  • The regime resorted to poisoning student girls to suppress protests, showing the movement's impact and the lengths of repression.

5. Writing Under Pressure: Collaboration and Trust

• Co-Authorship with Nilo Tabrizi:
  • Jamalpour inside Iran, Tabrizi based abroad; secure communication via Signal.
  • "It was how much I trusted her and we worked together." (Jamalpour, 09:49)
  • All notes for the book remained outside Iran for safety.
• Personal Consequences:
  • Legal and existential threats pushed Jamalpour into exile.
    • "Just the first three pages [of the book] would bring you charges of blasphemy against Islam. And publishing it could put you in prison for the rest of your life." (Jane Clayson, 09:49)

6. Exile, Grief, and Dedication

• Leaving Iran:
  • "I had to leave all of my life, my family, my friends, everything behind to just simply tell these stories. But I decided that it was my responsibility and my sacrification." (Jamalpour, 10:11)
  • Deep isolation of exile, justified by the importance of sharing her people's stories.
• Ongoing Movement:
  • "Each day that each Iranian woman risk their life to work in the public without hijab is a revolution itself." (Jamalpour, 10:52)
  • "The proof of this ongoing movement is the high number of the women who work in the public without a [hijab]...with their bravery and courage, it's the only weapon they have." (Jamalpour, 11:11 and 11:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On State Oppression:
  • "There was no logic there and they always threatening me to five years of prison. I think I use it as an opportunity to write down the integration session because I realized it's the way that I can represent the core ideological core of the regime." (Jamalpour, 03:38)
• On Inter-generational Inspiration:
  • "They made me more brave. They made me better version of myself during the protest." (Jamalpour, 06:22)
• On Sacrifice and Hope:
  • "When I'm sad, most of time I don't have anyone to put my head on their shoulder. When I'm crying, I don't have anyone to give me a glass of water. I lost all of this. I think it's worth it to tell the stories of my people." (Jamalpour, 10:34)
  • "I'm sure that the regime change gonna happen soon and late." (Jamalpour, 10:45)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:16 – 01:25: Setting the stage – Mahsa Amini's death and the scale of protests
• 02:15 – 03:20: Jamalpour’s firsthand experience and state intimidation
• 04:23 – 05:49: Women's everyday struggles, generational attitudes
• 06:11 – 07:22: Schoolgirls and Gen Z's bold defiance
• 08:39 – 09:49: Working with Nilo Tabrizi, collaboration under surveillance
• 09:49 – 10:52: Fleeing to tell the story, cost of exile, ongoing hope
• 11:08 – 11:34: Movement update and women’s continued defiance

Tone & Final Impressions

This episode is a poignant exploration of Iran’s contemporary women’s movement, resonating with admiration for the bravery of everyday Iranians—especially young women—standing up to repression. Jamalpour’s stories are raw, courageous, and deeply personal. The conversation underscores the high stakes of activism under oppression and the vital importance of witnessing and sharing these stories with the world.