Farah Karimi

Farah Karimi
Farah Karimi
	House of Representatives
	In office; 19 May 1998 – 30 November 2006
Personal details
Born	15 November 1960 (age 63); People's Mujahedin (1980–1986)
Alma mater	Isfahan University of Technology; University of Kiel; University of Groningen;

Farahnaz "Farah" Karimi (

GreenLeft

.

Early life and education

Karimi was born in Iran. She received

Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and campaigned for democracy and human rights in Iran. Karimi saw the Iranian Revolution as moment to put a form of Islamic socialism into practice.^[1] Instead the Iranian revolution brought a conservative religious government into power.^[1]

In 1980, Karimi left the university to join the

political asylum.^[2] In 1986 Karimi broke with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh. In her 2005 book The Secret of Fire Karimi describes her political development in her youth, her experiences with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh and her break with the organization.^[2]

In

University of Kiel. Between 1983 and 1988 Karimi was active in different refugee groups in Germany and France.^[3]^[2]

In 1989, Karimi went to the Netherlands with her family. At the University of Groningen, Karimi studied "International Relations and International Organizations". She also obtained the Dutch nationality.

Career

In 1993, Karimi began to work in the semi-public sector. Between 1993 and 1994, she began to work for the foundation Probe in Hoogezand-Sappemeer. Since 1994, she worked as a coordinator for Aisa, a project for the emancipation and support of black, migrant and refugee women. In 1997, she became a member of GreenLeft.^[3] In April 1998, she became a board member of GreenLeft. In 1998 she was a national project leader for "Heel de Buurt" of the Dutch Institute for Care and Welfare. Karimi was also active in civil society. Between 1991 and 2001, she was member of the Board of Vluchtelingenorganisaties Nederland.

Political life

In the

NATO bombings which were part of the Kosovo War.^[3]

In 2003, she proposed, together with Niesco Dubbelboer of the

Rooz and Radio Zamaneh, with 15 million euro. This was accepted by the House of Representatives at the end of 2004. Karimi did not put herself forward as a candidate in the 2006 elections

.

Karimi was the Executive Director of Oxfam Novib until 2018. In 2009 and 2010 she chaired the SHO, a group of cooperating humanitarian-aid organizations. She is also a board member of the broadcaster VPRO and the IDH (Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative). Between 2006 and 2007 she served on the board of Parliamentarians for Global Action in New York. In 2007 she helped to establish the Afghan parliament as a consultant with the UN branch UNDP. As an administrator, she was involved with the advisory board of the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, among other projects.

For her work, Karimi traveled extensively to many conflict regions. In May 2005, she visited the opposition in Iran. She was interrogated at the Teheran airport and information was copied from her diary. This led to a formal protests by Minister Bot to the Iranian ambassador.^[3]

The main themes of her work in the House of Representatives were human rights and international law in foreign relations of the Netherlands. She paid particular attention to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the developments in Afghanistan and Iran. She wrote about it in her books "Battlefield Afghanistan" and "The Secret of Fire".

Life after politics

In early 2007, Karimi worked for the

Oxfam Novib

. She succeeded Sylvia Borren.

Karimi is also active in civil society. She writes for

Rooz, a free, Persian online newspaper. Since 2004, she has been a member on the Board of Advice of the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World in Leiden. In 2006, she founded Bridging the Gulf, a foundation for human security in the Middle East. Between 2006 and 2007, she was a member on the board of Parliamentarians for Global Action in New York.^[4]

Personal life

Karimi has been married twice. Her first husband was also involved in the

Mojahedin-e Khalgh. When she broke from the organization in 1986 she also broke with him. She has one son with her first husband, who was born when Karimi fled from Iran. In 1989 she was married again. Karimi speaks Persian, Dutch, English, Turkish and German.^[1]

Selected works

Slagveld Afghanistan (El secreto del fuego: mi vida contra el fanatismo islámico/Battlefield Afghanistan) (2006) (Dutch, Spanish and English Edition)
ISBN 978-8-467-02273-5

Het geheim van het vuur (The Secret of Fire) (2005) together with Chris Keulemans
In naam van de vrijheid: hoe onze wereld na 9/11 steeds onvrijer is geworden (In the name of freedom: how our world has become increasingly unfree after 9/11), 2021 (Dutch and English Edition)
ISBN 978-9-046-82875-5

References