FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium on Lawyering under Authoritarianism: The Iranian Experience with Dr. Afrooz Maghzi
On 12 November 2025, the FAU CHREN hosted Dr. Afrooz Maghzi, an Iranian lawyer, socio-legal scholar, and human rights activist in the context of its Human Rights Colloquium series. The event was a deeply engaging exploration of the complexities of legal advocacy under conditions of authoritarian rule, focusing on the critical case study of Iran. The event attracted a diverse audience eager to understand how legal professionals navigate a theocratic-authoritarian system.
Discussion
Dr. Maghzi’s central argument was that some Iranian lawyers must navigate a complex ‘authoritarian legality’. By Developing strategic litigation concepts that utilize the courtroom not just as a legal venue, but as a space for moral resistance, they concurrently place the rule of law at the centre of their wider advocacy goals operating with the paradoxes of opportunity and repression characteristic of authoritarian rule. In her talk, Dr. Maghzi also outlined the historical trajectory of the Iranian Bar Association, whose independence – rooted in the era of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 – has been systematically eroded. She detailed the state’s evolving strategies of suppression, which have shifted from blunt force to more sophisticated bureaucratic warfare.
Since the 1979 revolution, which deprived women of many rights, female lawyers have emerged as a driving force in human rights advocacy. Facing a specific form of ‘gender authoritarianism’ – where the state uses morality and gender as tools of control – women lawyers have redefined the profession. They challenge patriarchal interpretations of Islamic law by demanding a “lived Islam” and framing their advocacy as a battle for divine justice and morality, rather than solely a technical legal victory.
The topics of the subsequent vibrant discussion ranged from the role of the dispersion and lawyers in exile – who increasingly use social media to amplify cases – to the delicate survival strategies of the Bar Association versus tactics of individual lawyers. The audience was particularly captivated by the insight that for many Iranian human rights lawyers, the courtroom is less about ‘winning a case’ in a manipulated system, and more about documenting injustice and maintaining a moral stance against state oppression, resulting in the aspired creation of ‘moral legality’” before Courts.
Dr. Afrooz Maghzi’s colloquium, Image: FAU/Nathalie Schneider
Speaker Biography
Afrooz Maghzi, Image: FAU/Nathalie Schneider
Dr. Afrooz Maghzi is an Iranian lawyer and scholar currently affiliated with the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway. She holds a PhD in Law from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the Max-Planck-Institute for Social Anthropology. A former Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School and previously associated with the FAU Research Centre for Islam and Law in Europe (EZIRE), her research focuses on the intersection of law, gender, and minority rights in authoritarian contexts.
About the FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium
Organized by the FAU Research Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU CHREN), our inter- and transdisciplinary brings together scholars and practitioners to discuss current issues in human rights research and practice.
Colloquia are organised on a rolling basis and are co-convened by Dr. Janina Heaphy and Prof. Dr. Eva Pils. Events are invitation-only. Enquiries should be directed to the co-conveners and/or to humanrights@fau.de.
FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium on Lawyering under Authoritarianism: The Iranian Experience with Dr. Afrooz Maghzi
On 12 November 2025, the FAU CHREN hosted Dr. Afrooz Maghzi, an Iranian lawyer, socio-legal scholar, and human rights activist in the context of its Human Rights Colloquium series . The event was a deeply engaging exploration of the complexities of legal advocacy under conditions of authoritarian rule, focusing on the critical case study of Iran. The event attracted a diverse audience eager to understand how legal professionals navigate a theocratic-authoritarian system.
Discussion
Dr. Maghzi’s central argument was that some Iranian lawyers must navigate a complex ‘authoritarian legality’. By Developing strategic litigation concepts that utilize the courtroom not just as a legal venue, but as a space for moral resistance, they concurrently place the rule of law at the centre of their wider advocacy goals operating with the paradoxes of opportunity and repression characteristic of authoritarian rule. In her talk, Dr. Maghzi also outlined the historical trajectory of the Iranian Bar Association, whose independence – rooted in the era of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 – has been systematically eroded. She detailed the state’s evolving strategies of suppression, which have shifted from blunt force to more sophisticated bureaucratic warfare.
Since the 1979 revolution, which deprived women of many rights, female lawyers have emerged as a driving force in human rights advocacy. Facing a specific form of ‘gender authoritarianism’ – where the state uses morality and gender as tools of control – women lawyers have redefined the profession. They challenge patriarchal interpretations of Islamic law by demanding a “lived Islam” and framing their advocacy as a battle for divine justice and morality, rather than solely a technical legal victory.
The topics of the subsequent vibrant discussion ranged from the role of the dispersion and lawyers in exile – who increasingly use social media to amplify cases – to the delicate survival strategies of the Bar Association versus tactics of individual lawyers. The audience was particularly captivated by the insight that for many Iranian human rights lawyers, the courtroom is less about ‘winning a case’ in a manipulated system, and more about documenting injustice and maintaining a moral stance against state oppression, resulting in the aspired creation of ‘moral legality’” before Courts.
Speaker Biography
Dr. Afrooz Maghzi is an Iranian lawyer and scholar currently affiliated with the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway. She holds a PhD in Law from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and the Max-Planck-Institute for Social Anthropology. A former Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School and previously associated with the FAU Research Centre for Islam and Law in Europe (EZIRE), her research focuses on the intersection of law, gender, and minority rights in authoritarian contexts.
About the FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium
Organized by the FAU Research Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU CHREN), our inter- and transdisciplinary brings together scholars and practitioners to discuss current issues in human rights research and practice.
Colloquia are organised on a rolling basis and are co-convened by Dr. Janina Heaphy and Prof. Dr. Eva Pils. Events are invitation-only. Enquiries should be directed to the co-conveners and/or to humanrights@fau.de.