Negeen: Outspoken Feminist, USAC IVP Candidate
During the middle of Spring Quarter, election season is in full-swing at UCLA while students rally around their respective candidates and spread awareness for their slate’s platforms.
This year, Negeen Sadeghi-Movahed, an outspoken and proud feminist, is running for Internal Vice President of the Undergraduate Students Association Council.
Sadeghi-Movahed is running under the LET’S ACT! slate, a progressive and diverse slate founded last year. “LET’S ACT! is a coalition of social-justice minded individuals dedicated to progressive change. All of the LET’S ACT! candidates are feminists. One of our candidates for General Representative, Francesca Rebosura, plans on hosting a Womyn’s Conference,” Sadeghi-Movahed said.
According to the slate’s website, LET’S ACT! is “an open coalition of progressives from all backgrounds and identities that work together to affect positive change on campus and in our communities. [They] fundamentally believe that no student should be excluded from the student movement.”
They support diversity, inclusivity, safety, and affordability.
To Sadeghi-Movahed, feminism is a liberation movement in which we become educated about systems of oppression.
“It is not only important, but necessary, to for us to acknowledge the truth about ourselves and the ways in which society labels, disenfranchises, and dehumanizes us. It is a movement towards ideological and social consciousness to understand who we are and how we can empower those who are disempowered by the system,” Sadeghi-Movahed said.
Sadeghi-Movahed touches upon her identity as a Muslim Iranian-American womxn and acknowledges the importance of intersectionality. She is also aware of the misunderstanding people typically have of feminism. She explained:
“I would argue that any movement to deviate from the norm receives opposition. Change of behavior is not easy, especially when patriarchy is so deeply-rooted in American culture. As a result, feminism becomes demonized to make it easier for those who are uncomfortable with change to attack it.”
However, Sadeghi-Movahed is optimistic and believes we are in a time of progress.
“Most people understand the basic concept of feminism: equality. Outlets like FEM Newsmagazine and spaces like UCLA’s Feminist Caucus and Bruin Feminists for Equality play a crucial role in intellectual empowerment,” she said.
In fact, Sadeghi-Movahed is heavily involved in Bruin Feminists for Equality. Additionally, she is involved in United Nations Association and UN Women which is a chance for her to explore feminist issues on a global scale. She was invited by Bangladeshi Ambassador Anwarul Chowdury to speak at the UN about a UN Resolution that sought to protect women and children in times of war. Sadeghi-Movahed also currently works with the 7000 in Solidarity Campaign and UCPD to make sure that issues of sexual assault are prioritized on our campus.
When speaking about her platform Sadeghi-Movahed stated,
“My ultimate goal is to engage students through the student groups they thrive in. I will work to foster a positive, healthy campus climate by putting student input at the forefront of programs and agendas for communicating with administrators.”
Sadeghi-Movahed hopes to continue her feminist activism in office as Internal Vice President. As IVP, she hopes to work in conjunction with the Student Wellness Commision on installing resource cards in bathroom stalls.
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