Iranian Women

Iranian Women

زن ايراني

This page is dedicated to the Iranian Women, champions of a 2500 years history.

Attractive, Smart, Competitive

Article added on: May 08, 2005

Sarah Afshar Happy to serve

Sarah Afshar faces a future different from most of her fellow Alpha Gamma Delta sorority sisters. The new holder of a University of Minnesota degree in finance is committed to spending the next four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. She not only completed her college years in the Naval ROTC program, but did so with outstanding results, including being first in her troop and third in the entire company at last summer’s Marine Corps Officer Training School, the Quantico, Virginia, institution sometimes called "Bulldog Camp."

Afshar chose ROTC out of high school for "superficial" reasons, she said, thinking it would look good if she decided to go into politics. But once in the program, she saw military service and training as an end in itself. "It has really taught me who I am and what I am about," she said. She switched from Navy to Marines for her four-year post-college commitment in order to test herself further. "I didn’t want to look back and say, ‘I could have and should have been a Marine.’"

Born at the University of Minnesota Hospital, Afshar grew up in Mound, Minnesota, near Lake Minnetonka. Her parents are both Iranian immigrants. A trip back to Iran during high school, followed by her ROTC experience, has created patriotism in her. "I really believe in everything my country stands for," she said. "I appreciate so much all that I have gained by being able to live here."

Quantico will be Afshar’s home for six more months of training. Then she will be posted as a second lieutenant at a Marine base, preferably somewhere she can put her German and Farsi (Persian) language skills to use. "I want to get the most challenging post I can to see how I respond," she said. "I’ll have a degree and gold bars on my collar, but I’ll have to remember that the NCO (noncommissioned officer) at the post will probably have 15 years of experience while all I’ve had is training."

After her four years, Afshar may stay in the Marines or move on—to business, motherhood, or almost anything that comes up. "I’ll stay with the Marines as long as it makes me happy," she said. "Whatever I’m doing, I’ll be happy."

Iran Salutes Female ’Schumacher’

Iran's foremost race car driver, Laleh Seddigh adjusts her helmet prior to a race at Tehran's Azadi stadium, January 28, 2005. (AFP file Photo)

TEHRAN, March 15--Laleh Seddigh has been given the title of Iran’s best women car racers and won prizes for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic, bbc.co.uk reported.
At a racing event for women organized by Iran’s automobile federation, there was one woman who many in Iran believe could outperform men.
Dozens applauded and cheered as a tiny figure in a blue headscarf appeared on the stage.
At 28, Laleh Seddigh is known for her stunning looks and legendary driving skills.
A PhD student from Tehran, she has been nicknamed ’a little Schumacher’ after the German Formula 1 champion. She has now been given the title of Iran’s best female racing driver.
But many feel this title does not do her justice.
Over the past two years, Laleh Seddigh, who drives a saloon car, has emerged as one of the most promising racing drivers in Iran, beating even the best of the men in a number of races.
I asked her how men felt about her success.
“Most of them, I think, are jealous, and I don’t care about that,“ she says.
“I am just going and going and hoping to be champion in the next years and I will really try to achieve that goal.“
Seddigh says competing with men is not easy in Iran, but she hopes her example will encourage other women to follow suit.
Car racing is becoming increasingly popular among Iranian women.
There were some 30 of them who entered this year’s contest for the first prize, but they are not permitted to compete in the same category as men and prizes are awarded separately.
Despite her huge success so far, Ms Seddigh says she is determined to improve her performance.
With more difficult races still ahead, she remains undaunted, even though she is still waiting for permission to compete with men in forthcoming rallies.

Winner AAAS Young Scientist Award

Saba Valadkhan
Assistant Professor

Saba Valadkhan was born in a small town just outside of Tehran, and with much encouragement from her parents, she excelled in her studies and then entered medical school at an early age. She found the routines of medical practice fulfilling, but frustrating too. She wanted to do work that would have an impact not just on her patients, but on people everywhere, for generations to come.

That ambition brought her to Columbia University in New York,

where her research into the spliceosome—a powerful molecular machine located within the cell—helped to solve one of the crucial riddles of molecular biology. For that work, she has been named to receive this year's $25,000 Young Scientist Award, supported by GE Healthcare and the journal Science.

Q: I want to start at the very beginning—how you grew up, and how you came to science. Tell me about how you were shaped by growing up in Iran.

- I think the aspect about growing up in Iran that is related to my decision to become a scientist would be the general way that the society values education. At least when I was growing up, being educated was the one single important determinant in where you ranked in terms of the social hierarchy. Especially going to medicine was valued greatly. So I think while we were growing up as early teenagers, we were sort of directed toward being educated: getting a good college education, and probably going into medicine.
I think also it was probably partly my family atmosphere. My father is not a scientist—he's an engineer—but he has a very analytical, problem-solving approach to every single thing that happens, that he hears about. That's the way he thinks, it's the approach he's always had, and that makes me feel very comfortable doing science because that's the way I've always seen my parents look at the world.

Q: The impression that's shared by many people in the West, I think, is that Iran is such a conservative society that science would not be valued, and that women in particular would have very limited opportunities to get into science. Is that a misconception?

- I think so. You know, it's very difficult—when we talk about these issues, we have to think about exactly what we mean by conservative. Iran is actually not as conservative as people think. To me, coming from Iran, I think the U.S. is also quite a conservative society. Especially because in recent years the Iranian population is mostly made up of the younger generation, I think the general atmosphere of the country is a very liberal atmosphere. Although in the society, like in all traditional societies, there are impediments to women having equal rights with men, but these are never at the level of seeking education. Maybe a little bit afterward, in getting jobs, but never education. In education, girls have much better opportunities than boys. The numbers say that a higher percentage of girls graduate from high school and from college than boys. Educationally, I never felt for myself or anyone else that that we didn't have opportunities. We had every opportunity.

Each year since 1994, the Young Scientist Award has recognized outstanding young molecular biologists at an early stage of their careers. Some 48 young scientists have so far received the award, honoring exceptional thesis work in the field of molecular biology.

Source: www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0210ys-Valadkhan.shtml

1 Olympic Plaza, Suite 104C
Colorado Springs, CO

USA Taekwondo Team

Sanaz Shahbazi

Weight Class:
Height:
Weight:
Birthdate:
Birthplace:
Hometown:
Instructors:

Featherweight,Lightweight & Middleweight
5'10"
129 pounds
September 16, 1981
Tehran, Iran
San Jose, Calif.
Mr. Ernie Reyes, Sr.

US Welterweight Champion Sanaz Shahbazi, an Iranian-American who has won countles gold medals in National and International Taekwondo competition since 1992, is aiming to follow in her father's footsteps and be the second Olympian in her family. She is a talented young lady who is determined to achieve success in her path to Olympic Gold in 2004. A fierce competitor in the ring, Sanaz accomplished what no one in Taekwondo has ever done before at February's US Open in Las Vegas. Competing in three different weight classes, she took gold in Welterweight, silver in Middleweight and reached the quarterfinals in the Lightweight class.

يلدا خرم دين از قهرمانان رشته وزنه برداری است که موفق به ورود به تيم وزنه برداری دختران انگلستان، 67 کيلوگرم شده است

وقتی از تلويزيون مسابقات وزنه برداری رو تماشا می کردم خوشم می آمد و به اين فکر ميکردم که چرا فقط پسرا اين ورزش را انجام می دهند و فرقی که بين پسر و دختر نيست چرا من اين ورزش را انجام ندهم

بعدا يک روز در جامعه ايرانيان در لندن اطلاعيه باشگاهی را ديدم که آقای کاظم پنجوی که خود از قهرمانان آسيا است، مربی آنجا بود و با ايشان آشنا شدم و به تشويق ايشان اين ورزش را ادامه دادم

زورگو که نيستی؟

با خنده می گويد نه فقط به وزنه ها زور می گويم.

رشته سنگنوردی از ورزشهايی است که در چند سال اخیر خیلی از جوانان ایرانی رو به خودش جذب کرده. امکانات این ورزش در ایران مهیاست، سنگ و سخره

وقتی به دامنه کوه های دربند، بند یخچال و صخره های جاده چالوس در ایران می ریم، می بینیم که سنگنوردها با طناب و یک سری وسایل رنگارنگ مخصوص خودشون، و یک کیسه پودر که از پشتشون آویزونه و انگشتهاشون رو هر از چند گاهی داخلش می کنن تا مبادا دستهاشون لیز بخوره، از صخره ها آویزان شدن

جالبه که بعضی از این سنگنوردها دخترانی هستن که با مانتو و روسری در حال بالا رفتن از این صخره ها هستن .البته چند سالیه که در ایران تیم ملی سنگنوردی دختران در کنار تيم آقایان تشکیل شده و بیشتر تمرینات آنها در سالنهایی که دیواره مصنوعی دارن انجام می شه. بعضی وقتها هم در دامنه بعضی کوه ها تمرین می کنن

چطوری با مانتو و روسری می شه سنگنوردی کرد؟ دست و پاگیر نیست؟

چرا دست و پاگیر هست اما ما عادت کردیم، بخاطر عشقی که به این ورزش داریم سختیهاش رو هم تحمل می کنیم

مارال راسخی هستم 18 سالمه و متولد تهران. عضو تيم ملی اسکيت زنان ايران هستم که برای مسابقات قهرمانی آسيا با تيم زنان ايران به ژاپن رفتم. الان در باشگاه انقلاب تهران تمرين اسکيت می کنم

من از سال ۱۳۸۱ به مسابقات کشوری راه پيدا کردم و قبل از اون برای شرکت کردن توی اين مسابقات برای خودم باشگاه انتخاب کردم. بعد از مسابقات انتخابی هم وارد تيم ملی شدم

با سمیه آشنا بشيم که 6 ساله ورزش پاراگلايدينگ می کنه. ورزشی که شامل یک چتر مستطيل شکله که در دو گوشه تسمه و دستگيره داره که با اونها می شه تغيير جهت داد

سميه کوهی هستم متولد ۱۳۵۸ و شش سال هست که در اين رشته قهرمان ايران هستم و يک بار هم نايب قهرمان شدم

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