For journalist Masih Alinejad, “Pouyan” is a lucky charm, the word she uses for everything that is important to her, especially when it comes to her work: It is part of her email address and Twitter handle, and included in the name of her blog.
It did not take long for some of Alinejad’s fiercest critics to become suspicious of this routine use of “Pouyan”. They assumed it referred to a secret lover or clandestine relationship.
But who is Pouyan? Alinejad says he has been her greatest supporter, especially when she faced a barrage of accusations, threats and abuse at a time when she was essentially alone. Pouyan’s generous and continual support gave Alinejad the strength to continue work on the My Stealthy Freedom Facebook page — which fast became an important platform for citizen journalism — in its early, tumultuous days.
This episode of the My Stealthy Freedom documentary series focuses on Pouyan.
Watch all the episodes of My Stealthy Freedom Documentary: