Aware of gender inequality issues in her native land Iran, Xlibris author Simin Redjali Ph. D. has armed herself with good education to spark positive change in both Iran and the US. She and her family became US citizens in the 80s, thus beginning her significant realizations and life-changing journey.
The doctorate degree holder in Education and Clinical Pyschology imparts her professional knowledge and pays homage to her roots through her social historical autobiography A Symphony of Life. Simin shares with the Xlibris Blog a piece of her inspiring book.
What it means to me and my family to be citizens of the US
Our family citizenship was completed on July 4, 1986 at historic Monticello. Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution welcomed us with a flag of our new country and a Manual for Citizenship which included all the information necessary for a new citizen- from the early history of America to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Pledge of Allegiance and other useful information that I still refer to today. After the ceremony, we left Monticello and returned home to Lynchburg to celebrate with typical food of our two countries and finished with a cake made by a friend in the shape of a Map of the United States, which they asked us to cut while singing the national anthem.
One of my colleagues, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, invited me to address her chapter in Brookneal on the subject “What it means to me and my family to be citizens.” I was proud to accept and on April 6, 1987, the 200th year anniversary of the Constitution, I spoke at the regular meeting of the chapter. The speech was good enough for the Brookneal Union Star to publish it with the headline “New American Describes What It Means to Her and Family to be Citizens.” I described the developments that led to my decision to become an American citizen explaining that I first came across America through my textbooks in school. My first feelings toward America were those of awe and admiration, for my textbooks painted a picture of a trouble -free land where freedom and equality were as native to its people as was my quest to establish these American ideals in the country of my birth, Iran.
As a young woman, I was aware of the inequalities and lack of rights that existed in Iran, particularly towards women. Therefore, my aim was to promote the image of women in Iran crushing the image of women as helpless, weak and uneducated human beings. Now, when I look back, I realize that my dreams were not unlike those of our founding fathers whose concern was for all Americans to reap the benefits of freedom and equality. I wanted every Iranian woman to have the opportunity to excel in her own right and to never be denied the opportunity to fulfill her dreams because of her sex. I found that the best weapons to fight injustice was good education and hard work. Therefore, I concentrated on excelling in my studies by receiving my Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, a post doctoral from the University of London, and going on to become the first woman professor at the National University of Iran.
Catch the next installments of Simin’s blog contribution here on the Xlibris Blog:
Be the next Xlibris self-published author with free writing, editing, and book marketing tips from the Xlibris Writer’s Workshop and be featured on the Xlibris Indie Authors Roundup.