Earlier this month, Refinery29 released a video series called “Tehran Unveiled,” which seeks to inspire women all over the globe by introducing them to some of Iran’s most creative, fearless, and dynamic female leaders.

We believe that part of that empowerment is education, not only about what women are doing in Iran now, but also about the country’s history with respect to women’s rights. In order to learn as much as possible, we reached out to Haleh Esfandiari, Ph.D., the founding director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Esfandiari was arrested and spent 105 days in solitary confinement in an Iranian prison for her activism. When she was released, she authored the memoir My Prison, My Home: One Woman’s Story of Captivity in Iran. She served as deputy secretary general of the Women’s Organization of Iran and has written several other books and many articles concerning gender equality, women’s rights, and the women’s revolution.

Dr. Esfandiari spoke with us about pre- and post-revolutionary Iran — about the progress women made for themselves, for their families, and for their country before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s oppressive regime, and how women are working to continue that progress under the current president, Hassan Rouhani.