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Ali Sadeghian www.dorefa.com
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Akram Monfared Arya was born in Tehran in 1946. She is considered to be one of the most active Iranian women to date. In 1974 (1353) after having been married, she transformed her life from being a housewife by continuing her education and becoming the first woman in Iran to take flying lessons. That was remarkable in itself because she is the mother of five children between the ages of 2 to 11. |
| Akram started her flight training in engineless planes (gliders) and after receiving her license at Doshan-Tapeh School of Flight, she continued at Ghaleh-Morghi School of Flight in order to start flying different types of single and twin-engine planes. After successfully completing her training, she received her second license and continued to fly until the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With the exception of Princess Fatemeh Pahlavi, she is the first woman to attain a pilot´s license in Iran. |
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Alongside her efforts to become a pilot, she worked as the Director of Training and as a Consultant for two insurance companies: Tehran Insurance Company and Iran-America Insurance Company, which was renamed Tavanah Insurance Company after the revolution.
To show the abilities of women to be equal to that of their male counterparts, Akram took lessons on driving both trucks and buses.
She left Iran with her children after the revolution and migrated to Sweden. Single-handedly, she opened a small restaurant in Jönköping, one of the southern cities of Sweden, and carried on raising her children.
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Now a new chapter
of her life begun. In 1998 she started putting together a collection of her
romantic poems and short stories, which she had started writing since 1975
for publishing purposes.
Her first book called "PEJVAK-E ESHQ"
(in English "The messenger of love") was published in April 1999 in Sweden.
"PEJVAK-E ESHQ" is a book about separation, homeland, expatriation and
women's political rights but ultimately it is also about love. Her second book, "Sargozashteh Pari" (in English "Pari's life") was based on women's subjugation in patriarchies and was published in 2000. |
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She has also given many interviews for Swedish newspapers as well as for Swedish and Persian radio and television. She has been involved in numerous cultural and literary events held at libraries such as the International Library and museums such as the Mediterranean Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. In addition, she was the storyteller for children at various local libraries and on public access television for a year and half. She has also assisted the Municipal Cultural Committee in Kista as a counselor for cultural affairs for three and half years.
In 2000 she participated in a cultural contest called “Mina Drömmars Kista” held by the Kista library in which she won second place. One year later, she won first prize in the Husby Poetry Cup. Akram has been an active participant in Swedish poetry contests called “Poetry Slam”, since 1999. She was appointed the Mistress of Ceremonies for “Poetry Slam” for the 2001 event. In addition, she has been assigned the management and coordination of the poetry gatherings at Skärholmen Library for an eight months term starting September 2001. Akram took part in a poetry event called “Poetry Slam” in New York in February 2001 and her poems were well received there.
In May 2001 Akram received
permission from one of Sweden´s most famous authors, Sara Lidman,
to translate one of her books.
Akram was politicaly active in the Social Democtatic Party of Sweden between years 1999 to the end of
2005.
In year 2001 she was selected as a candidate for Social Democratic Party to run
for parliament and city hall for the 2002 election.
She has also served on a jury in Stockholm courts since 2003.
This is a four-year post that she will hold until 2007.
Akram has also chaired the Emigrant writer´s Union for Sweden since 2003.
She is a member of The Swedish Writers’ Union.
http://www.arya.se/ arya@arya.se