Aware of gender inequality issues in her native land Iran, Xlibris author Simin Redjali Ph. D. has armed herself with good education to spark positive change in both Iran and the US. She and her family became US citizens in the 80s, thus beginning her significant realizations and life-changing journey.

Xlibris author Simin Redjali (in the middle) with her husband Dr.Said Khadiri and daughter Gita Khadiri.

What it means to me and my family to be citizens of the US

Our family citizenship was completed on July 4, 1986 at historic Monticello. Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution welcomed us with a flag of our new country and a Manual for Citizenship which included all the information necessary for a new citizen- from the early history of America to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Pledge of Allegiance and other useful information that I still refer to today. After the ceremony, we left Monticello and returned home to Lynchburg to celebrate with typical food of our two countries and finished with a cake made by a friend in the shape of a Map of the United States, which they asked us to cut while singing the national anthem.

As a young woman, I was aware of the inequalities and lack of rights that existed in Iran, particularly towards women. Therefore, my aim was to promote the image of women in Iran crushing the image of women as helpless, weak and uneducated human beings. Now, when I look back, I realize that my dreams were not unlike those of our founding fathers whose concern was for all Americans to reap the benefits of freedom and equality. I wanted every Iranian woman to have the opportunity to excel in her own right and to never be denied the opportunity to fulfill her dreams because of her sex. I found that the best weapon to fight injustice was a good education and hard work. Therefore, I concentrated on excelling in my studies by receiving my Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, a post doctoral from the University of London, and going on to become the first woman professor at the National University of Iran.

source: http://blog.xlibris.com/author-blogs/simin-redjali/

On this second installment of Simin’s Xlibris Blog, the author narrates how she encounters a fork in the road that led her to a land where she discovered true freedom.

Embracing freedom

In the summer of 1966, the United States National Science Foundation offered me a fellowship at the University of Michigan, an opportunity for me to finally visit the country I had read so much about. As you know, 1966/7 was a time of unrest for America as the Civil Rights movement was surging ahead. As a foreigner, I was shocked to find that the America I had idealized for so long, was in a state of upheaval because of discrimination and prejudice that seemed to question the principles of equality and freedom which had been so firmly expressed in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. I returned to the United States the next year as a Fulbright Scholar visiting professor and was impressed to find that the American people were even more ardently supportive of the Civil Rights movement than the previous year.

Inspired by the magnitude of reforms that were taking place in the United States, I returned to Iran convinced that Iranians could also overcome their prejudice against working and educated women. Thus, I became involved with the women’s rights movement in Iran, finally being elected Secretary-General of the Women’s Organization of Iran in 1969. From 1969 to 1971, I established and supervised more than 150 Family Welfare Centers (House of Women) throughout Iran. Although proud of the family welfare systems, I felt that the country needed a firm education base geared towards strengthening these special centers. Therefore, I established Shemiran College in order to offer specialized programs of pre-school education, family counseling, welfare administration and special education. There I served as president until 1979 when the Islamic Revolution broke out and the government shut down all educational institutions. The Islamic government proclaimed that it was no longer interested in what the universities and colleges had to offer since they believed that the Islamic teachings of the Koran were sufficient for Iran’s educational needs. After the return of Khomeini to Iran, it became clear that the government’s purpose was to oppress its people in the name of God, freedom and equality for all. Betrayed by my own government’s abuse of these sacred principles, I saw no alternative but to leave the country. We left Iran with 20 pounds of luggage, thinking that we might return when the hype had died down. Although we left with our dreams and with little to show for them, we left with a warm feeling, willingly accepting what was to be our new country, America.

When I reflected upon the bygone years, I thought of my visits to America where hearts were warm and spirits free, a land where freedom and equality were the underlying principles of its government and a country whose people had chosen to replace discrimination with love and understanding, and I knew America was the only place in the world where I would want to live and raise my children. Among other things, the American Constitution guaranteed its citizens that their rights to vote “shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.” In fact, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence guaranteed my family and me the many rights that the Iranian government did not consider important.

source: http://blog.xlibris.com/author-blogs/simin-redjali-part-2/