Homa hoodfar biography of alberta

Iranian anthropologist

Homa Hoodfar (Persian: هما هودفر) is a Canadian-Iranian sociocultural anthropologist and professor emerita of anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal.^[1] While she is most widely known for her work on Western perceptions of the veil or hijab in its varied forms, meanings, and historical uses,^[2] much of her work has focused on women's roles in public life in Muslim societies,^[3] with particular attention to how religious symbols and interpretations have been variously used to support and repress women's status.^[4]

Detention in Iran

In February 2016, Hoodfar traveled to her home country of Iran, primarily for personal reasons but also for her academic research.

In March, a day before Hoodfar was to leave to join family in London, members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) raided the flat where she was staying, confiscating her belongings and three passports. After three months of Iranian