Dr. Parvin Darabi Tehran is an Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

ian born American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 activist, writer and an internationally recognized defender of women’s rights.

Background

Darabi studied at California State University Northridge, University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

 and Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...

, and California Coast University

California Coast University

California Coast University is a distance learning private university. It was established in 1973 and is located in Santa Ana, California. It has national accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council . Since its founding, CCU has offered undergraduate and graduate programs in...

. Parvin worked as an electronic systems engineer, program manager, company president, and engineering consultant until 1994. From 1985 to 1990 she owned and operated her own Company PT Enterprises, in Mountain View, California where they developed the most sensitive Radar Detector presently on the German Naval Vessels active in NATO.

Her elder sister, Homa Darabi

Homa Darabi

Homa Darabi was a pediatrician from Iran licensed to practice medicine in New Jersey, New York, and California. She returned to Iran in 1976 to serve as a psychiatrist. After the Islamic Revolution, Islamic authorities shut down her office because she had refused to wear the chador...

, committed suicide in 1994 by burning herself

Self-immolation

Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest...

 in a public square in Iran to protest against the Iranian government. Since then, Parvin has become an activist, writing the book Rage Against the Veil

Rage Against the Veil

Rage Against the Veil: The Courageous Life and Death of an Islamic Dissident is a book by Parvin Darabi, an Iranian critic of Islam. The book is about Parvin's sister, Dr. Homa Darabi, who on February 21, 1994 committed suicide by immolation in a city square in Tehran, Iran to protest the...

and speaking out on many occasions against Iran's government and the religion of Islam

Criticism of Islam

Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy...

 as whole.

Parvin along with Lydia Sparksworthy co-authored a book "Women of Truckee Making History

Women of Truckee Making History

Women of Truckee Making History is a book that celebrates local women for their contributions to the community of Truckee, California. It was compiled, designed and edited by two Truckee women, Parvin Darabi and Lydia Sparksworthy....

" which chronicles the lives of 30 influential women in Truckee, California

Truckee, California

Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 16,180 at the 2010 census, up from 13,864 at the 2000 census.-Name:...

.

Views on Shia Islam

Darabi has said that there are many laws in Shi'a Islam that would turn off any educated person completely, one of them being the temporary marriage

Nikah mut‘ah

' , is a fixed-term marriage in Shi'a Islam. The duration of this type of marriage is fixed at its inception and is then automatically dissolved upon completion of its term. The marriage is contractual and is subject to renewal...

 which she terms as "religiously sanctioned prostitution." Darabi has said that the only thing the Islamic Republic of Iran brought was poverty and misery.

External links

• Dr. Homa Darabi Foundation
• Spirit of protest - Reno Gazette-Journal
  Reno Gazette-Journal
  The Reno Gazette-Journal is the main daily newspaper for Reno, Nevada. It came into being when the Nevada State Journal and the Reno Evening Gazette were combined in 1983...
  
  
• Picture of Parvin Parvin during speech at Godless Americans March, November 2nd, 2002 in Washington DC - Speech text - Audio
• CKUT airs interview with Muslim feminist, gets flack from fundamentalists - coverage by the Montreal Mirror
  Montreal Mirror
  Montreal Mirror is a free English language alternative newsweekly based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with a circulation of 70,000, and reaches a quarter of a million readers per week. It is published by Communications Gratte-Ciel Ltée....
  
  
• Self-Immolation in Tajrish Square, Tehran - OnTheIssues.com, the Progressive Woman's Quarterly
• AOF September General Meeting: Sep 10, 2:30-5PM - Dr. Parvin Darabi