Jila Baniyaghoob

Jila Baniyaghoob (or Zhīlā Banī Yaʻqūb, Persian: ژيلا بنى يعقوب; born 21 August 1970 ) is an Iranian journalist and women's rights activist. She is the editor-in-chief of the website Kanoon Zanan Irani ("Focus on Iranian Women"). As a young child in Iran, Baniyaghoob was exposed to the political atmosphere very young. While she was young, many of her teachers encouraged her talent in writing. Baniyaghoob has worked for many publications since college such as Sarmayeh newspaper, and now as editor-in-chief of the website Kanoon Zanan Irani where contributors inside and outside of Iran provide news about women's issues. Her site has been repeatedly filtered by the Iranian government.

Baniyaghoob is a founding member of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality, which aims to change the discriminatory laws against women in Iran.

In 2008, she was imprisoned a third time for covering a women's rally, on charges of "disruption of public order, failure to obey police orders and propagandizing against the Islamic regime". Amou'i was jailed that year on charges of "gathering and colluding with intent to harm national security", "spreading propaganda against the system", "disrupting public security" and "insulting the president". Amnesty International designated her a prisoner of conscience, "held solely for peacefully exercising her rights to freedom of expression", and called for her to be released and allowed to resume her profession. The following year, she won the Freedom of Speech Award of Reporters Without Borders. In 2009, the International Women's Media Foundation awarded Baniyaghoob its Courage in Journalism prize, stating that she had "fearlessly reported on government and social oppression, particularly as they affect women". She refuses to censor her work and as a result, she has been fired from some media outlets. She continues to travel through the Middle East to report on the lives of women and refugees. Her reporting continues to make her a target of the Iranian government.