Farida Ahmadi
Farida Ahmadi | |
|---|---|
 Ahmadi in 2022 | |
| Born | 26 March 1957 Kabul, Afghanistan |
| Alma mater | Kabul University University of Oslo Nordic Women's University (PhD) |
| Occupation(s) | author, speaker and women's rights activist |
| Organization(s) | Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) Women against Fundamentalism |
| Notable work | Silent Screams (2008) From War to Peace: Our Global Responsibility! (2024) |
| Website | www.faridaahmadi.com/en/ |
Farida Ahmadi (Dari: فریده احمدی; born 26 March 1957) is an Afghan author, speaker and women's rights activist, living in Norway. She was one of the founders of and ran the women's organization Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).
Biography
Ahmadi was born 26 March 1957 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her medical education at Kabul University was interrupted by the Soviet invasion of Kabul during the Soviet–Afghan War.[1][2]
Ahmadi was one of the founders of and ran the women's organization Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).[1] Ahmadi was accused of distributing resistance literature and was arrested in 1981. She was detained for six months and was tortured by electrocution, denial of sleep and continual interrogation in the Criminal Investigation Department in Afghanistan.[2][3] She participated in the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal session "Afghanistan Il" on 16 December 1982 in Paris, France.[4] She also spoke about her treatment at a conference in New York, USA.[5]
For her women's rights and pro-democracy campaigning, Ahmadi was also arrested in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan,[6] and was imprisoned in Pakistan in 1989.[1][7][8] Amnesty International worked for her release from prison.[7][9]
Ahmadi fled to Norway as a refugee in 1991, firstly to a refugee reception centre in Haugesund, then later to Oslo where she permanently settled. She studied a masters degree in social anthropology at the University of Oslo.[1] She then completed a PhD on Immigrant women's reality in Norwegian society at the Nordic Women's University.[4]
In 1994, Ahmadi founded the organisation "Women against Fundamentalism" in Norway.[1] She co-authored the conference paper "Corruption and economic development: A critical review of literature" with Fredoun Z. Ahmadi-Esfahani.[10]
In 2008, Ahmadi published the book Silent Screams, which describes the experiences of immigrant women.[7] She translated her book into Persian[11] and it has been turned into a physical theatre production by Norwegian and Japanese artists.[4][12]
Ahmadi published From War to Peace: Our Global Responsibility! in 2024 and gave a talk about her writing at the London Book Fair in 2025.[13]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Ahmadi, Farida". Pax Forlag (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ a b The Phenomenon of Torture: Hearings and Markup Before the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Its Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, Second Session, on H.J. Res. 605, May 15, 16; September 6, 1984. United States Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 1984. pp. 108–109.
- ^ Amstutz, J. Bruce (July 1994). Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation. DIANE Publishing. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-7881-1111-2.
- ^ a b c "March Monthly Meeting: Information about Farida's work". International Forum. 3 February 2025. Archived from the original on 13 May 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ Clafin, Jacques (27 January 1983). "Afghans describe torture under Soviet occupation". UPI. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ^ Emadi, Hafizullah (30 August 2002). Repression, Resistance, and Women in Afghanistan. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-313-01246-4.
- ^ a b c Castello, Claudio (14 May 2023). "Identitetspolitikk på bekostning av innvandrerkvinners individualitet". Utrop. Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
- ^ Morgan, Robin (8 March 2016). Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3324-4.
- ^ The Amnesty International Report. Amnesty International Publications. 1982. pp. 184–187, 207. ISBN 978-0-939994-05-2.
- ^ Farida, Mohamad; Ahmadi-Esfahani, Fredoun Z. (2006). "Corruption and economic development: A critical review of literature". AgEcon Search. Archived from the original on 27 March 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ "فصل هویت؛ دغدغه هویت فردی در میان اقلیتهای قومی زن در نروژ". BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ "Gjestespill i Klosterenga park «Hi No Ho / Silent Screams» |" (in Norwegian Bokmål). 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ BlueRose Publishers (25 March 2025). From conflict to harmony—Farida Ahmadi shares her journey behind From War to Peace at #LBF2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025 – via YouTube.