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Raha Sabet Sarvestany

Dr.

 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4938-3861
20142026

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

I am an interdisciplinary scholar working across the fields of gender studies, sociology, religion, and minority studies. My research focuses on agency, resilience, social justice, and the dynamics of social transformation. With a PhD in Women's Studies and an MA in Gender, Culture and Development, I examine how marginalized women and minority communities, particularly in Iran, negotiate identity, construct meaning, and mobilize resistance in the face of systemic discrimination and persecution. My broader scholarly interests include democracy, social inequalities, migration, human rights, religion, and academic freedom, with an emphasis on understanding pathways toward greater equity and inclusion

Research interests

Drawing on feminist theory, religious studies, cultural sociology, social movement scholarship, and oral history, my interdisciplinary research centers on the production of knowledge from the margins and the recovery of voices often overlooked in dominant political and cultural narratives. My current postdoctoral research investigates the representation of minority women in international media, examining how gendered and ethnicized power relations shape visibility, representation, and belonging within contemporary Nordic societies. 

Teaching

I have extensive teaching and supervisory experience across the fields of gender studies, sociology, religious studies, and research methodology. My teaching has spanned institutions in Finland, Norway, Italy, and Iran, including Åbo Akademi University, the University of Turku, the University of Oslo, the University of Trento, and the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE). I have taught courses on gender and religion, ethnicity and diversity, sociology of religion, Bahá’í studies, development and religion, gender and Iranian culture, and research methodology at both postgraduate and doctoral levels. Most recently, I have served as an Instructor and Thesis Supervisor in the MA Programme in Social Exclusion at Åbo Akademi University, where I teach research design and supervise master's theses employing gender-focused analytical frameworks. Alongside my teaching, I have supervised MA research in Gender Studies, Sociology, Religious Studies, and Social Exclusion, guiding students in the development of theoretically grounded and methodologically rigorous research projects. My pedagogical approach emphasizes critical inquiry, interdisciplinary analysis, and the application of scholarly research to contemporary social challenges. In addition to my teaching and research roles, I have held academic leadership positions, including membership on the Boards of Directors of the Sociology Department and the General Studies Department at the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education. These roles have further strengthened my commitment to academic freedom, inclusive education, and the advancement of critical scholarship in diverse institutional settings.

Education/Academic qualification

PhD, University of Pune

1 Aug 2014 → 15 Dec 2016

Award Date: 15 May 2017

Master, Gender, Culture, and Development Studies, Women’s Study Center, Savitribai Phule Pune University, India (2014) , University of Pune

2012 → 2014

Award Date: 5 May 2014

Bachelor, Political Studies, Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), Tehran, Iran (2010), Advanced Bahai Studies Institute, an affiliation of BIHE

2008 → 2010

Award Date: 20 May 2010

Master, Sociology, Advanced Bahai Studies Institute, an affiliation of BIHE, Tehran, Iran (2003) , Bahai Institute for Higher Education (BIHE)

2001 → 2003

Award Date: 15 May 2003

Bachelor, Philosophy of Religion, Advanced Bahai Studies Institute, an affiliation of BIHE, Tehran, Iran (1999), Advanced Bahai Studies Institute, an affiliation of BIHE,

1097 → 1999

Award Date: 20 May 1999

External positions

Peer Reviewer, Violence Against Women (SAGE Publications)

2026 → …

Peer Reviewer, Research Handbook of Sustainability Agency, Vol. 2. Edward Elgar Publishing

2026 → …

Board member of SELMA

1 Aug 2025 → 30 Jul 2026

Resource Person for Fund for Education (FFE), Austria

2025 → …

Mentor for Persian speakers, Women’s E-Learning in Leadership (WELL)

2025 → …

Expert Evaluator of Fellowship Applications, Academy in Exile Council, Germany

2025 → …

Project manager and consultant of Bright Future for Youth Tanzania,

2025 → …

Board of Management at Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, substitute member

1 Aug 2023 → 30 Sept 2025

Representative of the Bahai Community for Interfaith Dialogue in USKOT foorumi, Finland,

1 Apr 2023 → …

local coordinator for International Amnesty in Finland, Turku city,

1 Mar 2023 → …

Post doctoral Researcher

1 Aug 2022 → 30 Sept 2025

Regional coordinator and member of Governance Board for International Community of Iranian Academics (ICOIA), Europe

1 Feb 2022 → …

Visiting scholar

1 Aug 2020 → 30 Jul 2022

Faculty of Department of Sociology at BIHE

1 Aug 2017 → 30 May 2020

Visiting Researcher at Chia Tung University

1 Mar 2016 → 30 Aug 2016

Research Grant

1 Aug 2014 → 30 Apr 2017

Faculty of General Studies at BIHE

1 Aug 2002 → 30 Oct 2006

Keywords

  • HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
  • Social movement
  • contemorary Iranian history
  • women's aganecy and resilience
  • Minorities
  • gender violence
  • Media studies
  • south Asian studies
  • BL Religion
  • Bahai studies and theology
  • political religion
  • Islamic philosophy
  • religion, community, and Institutions
  • women in Hinduism
  • L Education (General)
  • Academic Freedom
  • Higher Education
  • Freedom of Thinking
  • JA Political science (General)
  • democracy
  • Social Exclusion
  • social justice
  • authoritarianism
  • political subjectivization

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 4 - Quality Education
    SDG 4 Quality Education
  2. SDG 5 - Gender Equality
    SDG 5 Gender Equality
  3. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
  4. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

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