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 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 Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

legal scholar.

Personal life

Omid was born in

Abadan Abadan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Abadan County), Central District of Abadan County, Khuzestan province, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is in the southwest of the coun ...

, 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 or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

and was 8 years old when the

Shah of Iran The monarchs of Iran ruled for over two and a half millennia, beginning as early as the 7th century BC and enduring until the 20th century AD. The earliest Iranian king is generally considered to have been either Deioces of the Median dynasty () ...

was overthrown by the

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

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

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

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

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

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 (business), 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 ...

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)