Ghazal Omid (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

) is an

Iranian-Canadian Iranian Canadians or Persian Canadians are citizens of Canada whose national background is traced from Iran or are people possessing Iranian and Canadian dual citizenship. From the 2016 Canadian census, the main communities can be found in Southe ...

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 Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

legal scholar.

Personal life

Omid was born in

Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded ...

, Iran. Her father was a multi-millionaire who abandoned the family and sought refuge in the United States when she was a child. She grew up in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

and was 8 years old when the

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

was overthrown by the

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

. Omid is a practicing Muslim and has made the religious pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

. In 1995, she fled Iran and moved to Canada. In 2008, she moved to

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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. Omid has criticized Iran for using books to teach martyrdom to children. She also wants Iranian books to stop referring to the United States as the "Great Satan". Omid is concerned that these books may be turning children into "ticking bombs". Currently, Omid is the Executive Director for Iran & Its Future.org, a US-based

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit organization focused on advocating for the improvement of life in Iran. In 2014 she worked to bring children burned in a school fire in Iran to the US for medical treatment.

Publications

* ''Living in Hell: A True Odyssey of a Woman's Struggle in Islamic Iran Against Personal and Political Forces'' (2005) Park Avenue Publishers * * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Omid, Ghazal Canadian activists Canadian autobiographers Canadian Muslims Canadian people of Iranian descent Canadian Shia Muslims Canadian women activists Canadian women non-fiction writers Iranian emigrants to Canada Living people People from Abadan, Iran Year of birth missing (living people)