Ghazal Omid

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Ghazal Omid
Ghazal Omid
Ghazal Omid in August 2013
Born Abadan, Iran
Occupation Author, legal scholar
Nationality Iranian
Ethnicity Persian
Citizenship Canada
Genre Autobiography
Notable works Living In Hell
Website
www.ghazalomid.com

Ghazal Omid (Persian غزال امید ملقب به غزال بوگندو) is an Iranian-Canadian author. She wrote an autobiographical work entitled Living In Hell: A True Odyssey of a Woman's Struggle in Islamic Iran Against Personal and Political Forces. She is known in the United States as an advocate for human rights and women's rights and is also a Shi'a legal scholar.[1]

Personal life

Omid was born in Abadan, Iran.[2] Her father was a multi-millionaire who abandoned the family and sought refuge in the United States when she was a child.[3] She grew up in Isfahan and was 8 years old when the Shah of Iran was overthrown by the Ayatollah Khomeini.[4] Omid is a practicing Muslim and has made the religious pilgrimage to Mecca.[2] In 1995, she fled Iran and moved to Canada.[2] In 2008, she moved to Washington DC.[5]

Activism

Omid's autobiography, Living In Hell, is critical of Iran and the human rights abuses occurring there. Because of this, her book's website has been the focus of online abuse and threats from computer users in Iran, Turkey and Pakistan.[6] Omid has criticized Iran for using books to teach martyrdom to children.[7][8] She also wants Iranian books to stop referring to the United States as the "Great Satan".[7][9] Omid is concerned that these books may be turning children into "ticking bombs".[7][10]

Currently, Omid is the Executive Director for Iran & Its Future.org, a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on advocating for the improvement of life in Iran.[11]

Publications

  • Living In Hell: A True Odyssey of a Woman's Struggle in Islamic Iran Against Personal and Political Forces (2005) Park Avenue Publishers ISBN 978-0-9759683-0-7 OCLC 60764503

References

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External links