Hoda Katebi

Hoda Katebi is a Chicago-based Iranian-American writer, activist, and public speaker whose work focuses on garment workers' rights, ethical fashion production, Muslim identity, fashion in Iran, and fighting surveillance programs, militarism, and mass incarceration. Katebi's writing and work has been featured in books, journals, museums, and media outlets internationally and she has given talks and trainings at universities and events around the world.

Hoda Katebi was raised in Oklahoma by her Iranian immigrant parents. Katebi has discussed the challenges she faced wearing a hijab to her Oklahoma school when classmates would assault her and try to take off her scarf.

Katebi runs a platform called JooJoo Azad, meaning "free bird" in Farsi. In this blog Katebi writes about intersectionality, ethical fashion, identity, politics, and activism. Her writing and work has been featured in press outlets internationally.

She is the author of a photography book entitled Tehran Streetstyle. The book is the first of its kind to publish photography of underground and illegal fashion from Tehran. Katebi writes that the book works to challenge "mainstream western Orientalist representation projects" and "domestic Iranian mandatory dress codes".

In October 2016, Katebi was arrested for protesting the annual Illinois Tactical Officers Association Conference and Weapons Expo. Katebi has been a vocal activist against police militarization and surveillance programs such as Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and has conducted trainings and teach-ins on the War on Terror and anti-Muslim racism around the world. Katebi identifies as an abolitionist.

In February 2018, Katebi was interviewed on WGN about her book, Tehran Streetstyle, and fashion in Iran. When the discussion turned to the question of America's military presence in the Middle East and Iran's supposed nuclear weapons, the interviewer suggested that Katebi's criticism of American imperialism did not "sound like an American." Katebi defended herself by saying "that's because I've read." The interview garnered viral media and popular attention and led to the hashtag #BecauseWeveRead and an associated "virtual, radical reading club" hosted on Katebi's blog.

Since its creation after the viral WGN interview, Katebi's radical book club #BecauseWeveRead has launched dozens of chapters around the world that host discussion sessions and mobilize communities in various social justice efforts. Katebi says the book club is working toward "doing what our institutions have systematically failed to do: educate us on reality." Topics covered through the readings include anti-Blackness, Orientalism, and capitalism, among other issues. #BecauseWeveRead also has launched 'Emergency Reads' on urgent, unfolding issues such as the Sudanese revolution in January 2019 or the Indian communications blackout and military escalation on Kashmir in October 2019. #BecauseWeveRead chapters globally have organized community events, prison book drives, poetry slams, protests, and other events around the world on topics related to readings. Katebi works with publishers to provide free ebooks of each reading, and ends each unit with a global conversation on Youtube Live with different guests. Past guests have included Naomi Klein and Arundhati Roy.

Katebi's #BecauseWeveRead has been featured in media outlets including Dazed Magazine and Refinery29.

Blue Tin Production

Hoda Katebi supports ethical fashion and advocates for the abolition of fast fashion. She argues that fast fashion subjects garment workers to "systemic gender-based violence" including sexual and verbal abuse by their employers as well as dangerous working conditions in sweatshops.

In early 2019, Katebi launched a clothing co-operative, Blue Tin Production, which is run by refugee and immigrant women and promotes ethical garment production and is the first of its kind in the United States. In an interview with Vogue, Katebi stated "her overall goal is to offer designers in the U.S.—and abroad—a no-brainer alternative to sweatshops with “radical transparent production.”

In December 2019 Blue Tin Production published its first annual report, noting they are working to "to set — and continuously re-set — the bar in what clothing manufacturing can and should look like." Statistics released include purchasing zero plastic and producing negligible waste throughout their 2019 operations, along with other major divergences from mainstream apparel manufacturing factories' labor standards.

Katebi's activism and Blue Tin Production has garnered attention from numerous international fashion and journalism outlets, including Vogue, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Medium.

'Revolution-Washing'

In 2017 Katebi coined the term 'Revolution Washing' which has since been used to describe the ways in which fast-fashion brands attempt to brand themselves as progressive to appeal to conscious consumers while simultaneously exploiting garment workers to produce their apparel.

In August 2019 Katebi went on a delegation to Indonesia to meet with garment workers working in Nike, H&M, GAP, and other fast-fashion sweatshops.Katebi worked with international human rights organizations and garment worker unions on campaigns to uplift garment worker voices and help fight for their rights.

Acknowledgements and awards

• The Pioneer Award given by the Chicago Foundation for Women
• 20 In Their 20s by Crain's magazine