Big City Life
Big City Life
Somayeh Malekian chose modernity over tradition after she moved from Iran’s conservative countryside to the capital, Tehran, where she must fight for her independence.
This is the third episode of “Our Man in Tehran,” a video series on , produced with VPRO in the Netherlands, and the second of two videos about issues facing women in .
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Character Dossier: Somayeh Malekian
Date of birth: July 6, 1982
Hometown: Dowlatabad, Iran, north of Isfahan
Education: M.A. in English literature from Islamic Azad University, central Tehran branch, 2013.
Employment: High school English teacher at state schools for 13 years; worked as translator for The Washington Post; works as translator and assistant to the Tehran bureau chief of The New York Times.
Life experiences: I got married at the age of 20, when I had just started to work as a teacher in a suburb in Isfahan. I moved to Tehran in 2003 to live with my husband. After we lived together for two years, I spent the next seven or eight years trying to fix my marriage and then get a divorce. I was officially divorced about two years ago.
How do you describe yourself? I am an adventurous person trapped in an atmosphere that hardly appreciates such a personality trait. I would like to know better the world in which I live and I want to be useful and helpful to other people.
Are you active on the Internet? I basically use the Internet for my work, which requires reading news websites daily. However, I use Facebook to be connected to my friends and interesting people whom I may not know in person.
What do you hope for the future? I would like to become a successful journalist.
What are your hobbies? I enjoy going out with friends and watching movies and, of course, reading books when I can find some free time.
Have you traveled outside of Iran? Where? What did you think? Once. I went to Syria when it was peaceful. It was a fabulous place with great people. I really feel sorry for what is happening there now.
What is your most important memory? It was the moment I could officially get a divorce.
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It was about seven years of hardship before I heard someone call my name in the official registration office where my husband and I were sitting. The officer asked me to sign something certifying that I would get my divorce in return for giving up all my marriage rights, like the Islamic right for a woman to receive a mehrieh or marriage payment. I flew, I didn’t walk, from my seat to the desk where the paper granting me my freedom was waiting for the final signatures. I still clearly remember how that heavy burden I carried all those years on my shoulders was left on the ground when I stood up from the chair to go to the desk.
What do you love most? My personal slogan is that I need something to learn, something to laugh and something to help others with.
What is your favorite meal? I love gheymeh with rice — an Iranian stew of minced meat, tomatoes, peas and onions.
How do you see the future? I am not very optimistic about the near future. It would take many years for this country to improve in different areas for many reasons. But, I am thinking of emigrating to another country.