In Iran, “we are educated under ideas that contradict human rights,” says Kiana Malek, a 27-year-old activist who found refuge in Uruguay while her homeland denied her. Eight years after her arrival, she has turned her exile into a platform to defend freedom and human dignity, showing that even from afar, her voice continues to speak for those who cannot speak out.

Born and raised in Tehran, Kiana grew up in a society where women’s everyday lives are tightly controlled by religious laws and the so-called morality police. As she became aware of these contradictions, her questioning spirit and her refusal to conform placed her at constant risk. Facing the impossibility of living freely as a woman and an activist, she made the painful decision to leave her country – and with it, her family, who remain in Tehran. To this day, political persecution prevents her from returning or seeing them again.

In Uruguay, she found not only safety but also a new sense of purpose. What began as exile became a mission: to use her voice and her freedom to defend the rights of Iranian women and to raise awareness of their struggle around the world. “Freedom,” she says, “is not only a right – it is a responsibility toward those who still cannot have it.”

The short documentary “Kiana Malek: Freedom in Exile”, produced by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and CESCOS (Center for the Study of Contemporary Open Societies), tells her story through an intimate first-person testimony of courage, identity, and resilience. It shows how exile, though painful, can also become a path to activism and a reaffirmation of human dignity. The documentary aims to amplify the voices of Iranian women who continue to fight against oppression and for the universal value of human rights.