Darya Safai is an Iranian-born Belgian author, human rights activist and politician who has been a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the New Flemish Alliance since 2019.
16 Facts About Darya Safai
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Darya Safai was born in the Iranian capital Tehran as the oldest child in a family of three girls.
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Darya Safai grew up in Iran after the revolution of 1979.
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At the age of 22, Safai married her husband Saeed Bashirtash.
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Darya Safai's husband fled into the crowd and went into hiding, while she drove to her parents.
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Darya Safai was only released from prison on bail after 24 days after posting a large bail.
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Darya Safai then founded several dental practices with her husband in Brussels and Antwerp.
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Sepp Blatter 8.
Darya Safai uses the stadium ban as a symbol of one of the many discriminations Iranian women are confronted with on a daily basis.
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In February 2015, Darya Safai wrote a letter to Sepp Blatter, at that time President of FIFA, about the situation of the Iranian women and what they expected from FIFA.
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Darya Safai has campaigned against compulsory hijab laws in Iran, arguing that it represents discrimination and oppression against Iranian women.
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Darya Safai is critical of Western politicians who argue that wearing Islamic veils and headscarves in the West is a matter of religious freedom, equal rights or are a symbol of diversity.
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Darya Safai states that condoning the headscarf out of tolerance or multiculturalism is a form of cultural relativism and unjustified support for institutionalized discrimination.
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In 2016, Darya Safai criticized Belgian Mouvement Reformateur senator Christine Defraigne for making an official visit to Iran and for wearing a headscarf while meeting with officials from the Iranian government.
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Darya Safai joined the N-VA in 2018 and stood in the Flemish Brabant region for the party during the 2018 Belgian local elections, but was not elected.
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Darya Safai married the Iranian politician, activist and dentist Saeed Bashirtash in 1997.
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Darya Safai is fluent in Persian, Dutch, French and English.