Hi! Welcome to “Boundless HER,” a blog where I want to share my experience exploring the treatment of immigrants and the modern day application of feminism!

My name is Soraya Shah, and I am planning on minoring in Feminism/Women’s Gender Studies and later follow the Pre-Med track in my college career.

Growing up, I’ve always thought of myself being a strong feminist: educating my family and friends, debating and arguing with any oppositions, defending court cases, and imagining myself front and center of protests fighting for the general idea of “women’s rights.” However, to be honest, at the time, I didn’t know much about the concept of feminism other than the “pay gap” or “male dominated careers.” I think the moment that really made me realize that there was more to actually being a feminist was when I learned about Iran’s treatment of women from my mother who had grew up in the remnants of the Iranian Revolution. I began to learn and explore more complicated discussions of the forced hijab mandates and the brutality women faced by policemen in the “Guardians of the Revolution.” This learning process opened my eyes to the fact that oppression runs deeper than just surface level observations. Instead, it is oftentimes systemically and fully integrated into everything we have come to know as our society; leaving women set up at a disadvantage from the get go.

My goal with this blog is to spread awareness of the complexity of “feminism” and what is being done about it from all over the world. I want to explore further into what has previously set up these women to be in these situation and I want to empower women-led movements who have made it their mission to improve this inequality. Just as importantly, I also want to aid in the removal of the stigma around being a “feminist:” by bringing light to the fundamental issues that hurt half of our population, hopefully others will realize the necessity to actually ensure equality for all.

A woman’s potential is limitless, and together, we can break through any barriers that stand in our way. There are truly no bounds to what we can achieve.