Biography

The book has been published in the Farsi and English languages. The results demonstrated that FGM in Iran has become an issue for international organisations such as the United Nations and UNICEF, and even in recommendations from international organisations to Iran. In this context, I also produced a documentary film entitled In the Name of Tradition which recounts my field studies of female genital mutilation / cutting and has been shown at various TV and film Festivals.The Farsi version of this study, also entitled In the Name of the Tradition, has been published by Shirazeh Publications as a comprehensive study of female genital mutilation / cutting in Iran in 2015, and the English version is published in Germany by UnCUT/Voices Press 2015 with the same title, In The Name of Tradition.

The research in Iran on ‘white marriage’, ‘coexist’ or (adult) ‘co-habitation’, is a follow-up to my previous research on temporary marriage. This research will be published as a book called “A House with Open Door”. Researched for the first time in Iran, the study explores apparent and hidden angles of this phenomenon at the macro-level with a focus on the Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan metropolitan areas, using detailed and updated statistical population data. A summary of this research is available on my website.Young people’s change of style and view of life and marriage, the right to choose and the right to bodily autonomy, the problems and restrictions of permanent marriage for women, the economic bottlenecks, the lack of proper employment and the avoidance of religion have been given as reasons for the growth, emergence and continuation of white or ‘coexist’ marriage in Iran.

While doing fieldwork and studying groups on virtual networks on temporary marriage and white marriage, We encountered some homosexual couples living in a cohabiting relationship. Despite a relative awareness of their existence in Iranian society – even the hangouts attributed to these people in the metropolis are known and not so much hidden from the public – there has been no serious fieldwork on homosexuals and bisexuals in Iran, and existing studies are often devoted to the Iranian refugee community outside Iran, usually in the form of media files and published in human rights reports.I therefore decided to conduct this research for the first time to understand this topic and its details inside Iran, focusing on the metropolis of Tehran, Isfahan and Mashhad. The book which resulted is called Forbidden Tale, a comprehensive research report on LGB people in Iran.The Farsi version was published alongside its English edition entitled Forbidden Tale by Mehri Publication, London-UK (2018). The Forbidden Tale has also been published in three English and two Farsi articles in various journals; PDF versions of these articles are available on the article pages of my website.Female Genital Mutilation, Child Marriage, Temporary Marriage, White Marriage and LGBT were my five research projects conducted as a series of interrelated research investigations focusing on women, children and gender one after the other, ending with research on the LGB community. Anthropological investigation of one issue often leads to a recognition that other social or harmful traditional practices also need to be researched.

Reading about identity and ethnicity has intensified my feelings of belonging to the Kurdish ethnicity that formed many of the ethnic attitudes, sayings and hearings and memories of the war during my childhood experiences. I lived in border towns near Iraq and grew up a short distance from the Turkish border where people of my ethnic groups lived and were often mistreated, so I understand clearly that a person’s identity and ethnicity can be the source of many problems. They may also be of little interest from the mainstream, which results in under development of the region and subsequent impact on empowerment and a fair share of resources.The other reason for doing this research was my living experience and observation in Iran that let me carry out this study in cosmopolitan, rich, and rural as well as low-income communities which were deprived of development. This exposure led me to recognise different dimensions and angles of ethnicity.The third reason for the study was the need to understand these ethnicities, as well as the weaknesses and shortcomings of centrally-based policies that have led to the unequal distribution of wealth and power across different regions, and to the central concentration of power at the centre.Another important reason for my interest in the role and importance of peace in Iranian geography and history, especially at the present critical juncture, was that I wanted to pursue this research on identity and ethnicity focusing in peace and ways in which contemporary multicultural Iran can navigate this dangerous and difficult cross road.We began by interviewing the experts and elites of each ethnic group, with a lower percentage of the wider populations and normal people in the streets and markets. We sought answers to questions about the perceptions of ethnicity from the people themselves, also exploring other identities by which they nurture themselves in the political, economic, and social structure of today’s Iran. The aim of the study was to discern their views about convergence, political participation, their mother tongue language, and the centrally controlled policies.The book arising from this research is, From Border to Border, a comprehensive study of identity and ethnicity in Iran, with studies of five major Turkish (Azari), Kurdish, Baloch, Arab, and Fars (Persian speaking) ethnic groups. It is currently being published. A summary and its related article are available on article pages my website.

This book Traces of Exploitation in Childhood (A Comprehensive Research on Forms, Causes and Consequences of Child Labour in Iran) was published in farsi by Avaye Buf in Denmark on June 12 of 2021, International Day Against Child Labour. In this book, while introducing different forms of child labour, the causes of continuing child labour and the risks that early labour entails for children are also examined.The research adopted a qualitative research strategy while conducting research with children, and interview and participant observation have been used as key methods of data collection. Like any other research with children, the research needed to address gatekeepers, including parents, employers and street gangs in order to secure safe access. Predictably, identification of child labourers and access to them proved to be challenging, as quite often children were afraid of their (mostly illicit) employers finding out they had taken part in the research, and this became more challenging during the Covid 19 pandemic.In terms of scope, this research for the first time systematically identified more than 57 economic sectors in which child labour is used, and its geographical areas covers two major Iranian cities: the capital city of Tehran and the neighbouring city of Karaj and their neighbourhoods. Field work was largely conducted in the summer of 2020 at a time where the Covid 19 pandemic added to the economic stagnation and poverty among the research population. The age group of research participants ranged from 6 to 18. In total, over 300 interviews with children, parents, employers and practitioners were carried out, and the data was complemented by around 150 hours of participant observation by the research team.In addition to challenges of access, this research had to reflect on several ethical issues, including informed consent, confidentiality of data, and the safety and wellbeing of children and researchers. Due to the largely illicit nature of child labour, finding mediators to access this group or building rapport with the research community proved to be a difficult task. Despite this, several NGOs working in the area provided invaluable support in facilitating access to children and were crucial in opening a window to child labour in contemporary Iran. English and Kurdish version of the book coming soon.

I am honoured to have received various international and regional awards and recognitions for work and research that it would not have happened if there wasn’t for the collective teamwork of my colleagues and team members:Best Ethnographic Survey Award of the East London Museum, presented in 2006 by the Cultural Heritage Committee for the East London Museum and Hackney Neighbourhood Museum exhibition (HMS) entitled Migration and its Memories. This exhibition featured various objects and the heritage of families who had immigrated to England. I was privileged to be the cultural advisor to [the Cultural Heritage Committee for the East London Museum and Hackney Neighbourhood Museum].2009 Best Research Award of the Mesopotamian Centre for Publications of the GABB municipalities’ first truism and ethnographic book. The Award was given for coordination of Another Look at East and Southeast Turkey: A Traveller’s Handbook to East of Turkey, published in Istanbul. The book focuses ethnographic attention on the fifteen provinces of the Kurdish area of Kurdistan of Turkey; printed in English, Turkish and Kurdish (Kurmanji). This book is a travel guide to these areas but also moves beyond conventional travel guides, asking readers to revise perceptions of backwardness in the region and see that behind recent militarisation lies a very long and glorious history. This award was presented to me by the Mayor of Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir, who later became a member of parliament and is currently living in exile.In 2014 acquisition of World Expertise Award (Uganda / United Kingdom / Belgium – Refugee Rights in Exile from their country of origin) for writing and scholarly insights on FGM and other types of harmful traditional practices (HTP).The IKWRO Award at the University of Law in 2017 was given for research in the field of harmful traditional practices with an emphasis on the topic of Gender and Children.IKWRO, in collaboration with the London University of Law, celebrates different fields during their annual ceremony for community activists, researchers, and writers. In 2017, alongside winners from other sectors, the Honour Violence Award was presented to me for my research in the fields of harmful traditional practices with an emphasis on Gender and Children’s rights.Full membership of, and recognition of expertise by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC) in Kenya and Burkina Faso (2017). The Inter-African Committee (IAC) is a specialised foundation in the field of public awareness and education, having 29 members from African countries in which female genital mutilation is performed. Since 2017, this Foundation has also added representatives from Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Iran to its membership. I am the only Middle East representative in the membership of the IAC.The Global Woman Peace Foundation (P.E.A.C.E) award is presented annually to the world’s top researchers in the fields of education, political science, law, medicine and health, literature and the humanities, the press, and the arts, and it was the award for the Literature and Humanities which was presented me in 2018. This honorary award was presented to me in 2018 at a ceremony in George Washington University for a Collection of studies and books.

My firm belief, which has guided by research, is that community and visual ethnography offers an overview of the world that we live in, a view of what we see and experience as presenters in the world. I try to demonstrate these realities to my audience through anthropological descriptions, ethnography, photographs, and research. I also try to create a realistic picture of daily life that we often overlook in our own world. I am trying to use anthropological perspectives to open the eyes of the world to display poetry, sadness, mystery and happiness. It may not provide a complete picture or replace the full human experience, but it does help to capture these small but forgotten realities as much as possible.Despite the conventions of classical anthropology, social anthropology aligns with the modern world. It is customary for the researcher to study harmful traditions as well as the solutions to these research challenges. This feature has been particularly appealing to the younger generation of anthropologists, and I have always believed that my research and endeavours can provide an understanding of customs and the importance of customs and culture. I want to capture the direct voice of the target groups, advocates and opponents of these social phenomena.The aim is to provide solutions to these situations, with an emphasis on cultural contexts that address taboo and often obscured issues. We need to develop social innovations, but these developments can threaten the interests of those who are attached to power and wealth, who will often then strongly oppose these innovations. Even those who are influential in these studies are expected to deliberately ignore the positive aspects of this type of research, which they themselves acknowledge with due diligence criticism and empathetic opposition.The research community plays an undeniable and critical role in comprehensive and sustainable development. It is a driving force for development in all cultural, political, social, and economic area. But in spite of the importance and necessity of research, scholars are often unappreciated and sometimes punished. Despite the problems and challenges researchers continue their work with seriousness, hope, optimism, and love, striving for recognition of the facts and perspectives they reveal and seeking interaction at all times to achieve improvement and progress.