I was born to an average Muslim household in Tehran in 1976, the sixth and last child.
My mum was a housewife and my dad an accountant. Both coming from country villages and poor background. My dad was the first person to go to university from his village. We had few toys and lots of kids to play with on streets. We were even having adventures when our city was bombarded in Iran/Iraq war, constantly seeing the younger men die in our neighbourhood, but seemingly for a worthy cause of defending their own country.
The idea of equality or rights didn’t mean much to us, the world was created that way and we were mere agents.
I mostly played soccer with my older brother and his friends on our street, and as we were growing thought this was going to continue, until the day I was told that I couldn’t play on the street anymore because I am a girl! A complete shock to my system.
I got drawn into reading and school work (in which I thrived). I was lucky that my dad was serious about education and got me enrolled in a good school among wealthy kids. I owe most of success to the schools I went to, few teachers that shaped my mind and access to books (mostly European classical books which were translated before the revolution and now were banned). I read a lot, and secretly, inside. The books I read were dealing with a conflict of scary West (that wants my country demolished) and novels about people that were so much like my people (similar desires and aspirations).
My biggest hope has always been to bring all my internal conflicts together, my female body and a patriarchal world, being out there without being scared, and fill the gap between modernity and tradition.
This desire inspired me to study Mechanical Engineering (I was the only female in majority of my lectures in Uni), working in male-dominated industry/projects with a few patents/inventions to my name, run ultra- marathons around the world, climb mountains and be proud about my past, my body and my heritage among all friends and colleagues I have met in Australia.
Being a mother of two children (7and 9 years of age) I hope I have made a small contribution to make this world a better place for them too.
For the past seven years I have worked as research and development engineer with ITW construction products.
Growing up, what kind of career did you want to pursue?
I wanted to be a paediatrician as I loved my doctor and an adventurer because I loved the great outdoors. Definitely entering engineering was never a childhood dream for me
Who inspires you?
These days social justice movement activists inspire me the most. At times I wonder how they manage to be so far ahead of their culture andsociety, especially women fighting for human rights all over the world.
Who (apart from you) is most surprised by your achievements?
I would say my family. Until I became independent financially I don’t think they ever thought I am so serious about my values and I live according to what I think is right in spite of being so contradictory to my upbringing or social circles
How have women helped shape your success to date?
As a university student volunteering for a magazine I had the opportunity to meet with some truly brave and inspiring women in Iran. One of them was Shirin Ebadi who ended up being awarded for Nobel peace prize and the other amazing woman was Shahla Sherkat who used to run a women’s magazine in Iran. Her magazines were constantly cracked down by government officials, as she was bravely exposing women issues, such as domestic violence, prostitution violence, pay gap, abortion rights I stay forever inspired by these women, as they could leave the country and live a comfortable life, but they were real fighters and inspired a generation of younger women to become aware of their rights and place in the world.
What qualities do you most admire in a female colleague?
Unfortunately, I haven’t had the company of many female engineers in most positions I have had, but I have noticed an admirable trait among women which is the ability to be competent and humble at the same time. Most of them seem to be more aware of complexity of human condition and bring a lot to the table when issues of design is being discussed
What’s the key to successfully balancing work and life?
This is very tricky as no one seems to be really sure what we mean by balance, I think it is important to have an honest discussion with one’s management and partner about it, what we seek from life and how we can find fulfilment. A lot of it is also trial and error I think. For instance, after my first child I went back to work (with my son) a week after birth, which many people find inspiring. It took me a while to realise that there is nothing wrong with slowing down and babies are only small for a long time. For my second child I took time off and enjoyed quality time with my baby. I think I knew by then that taking few months off is not going to adversely affect my life or career. Of course these issues are quite personal and only you can make a final call which path you want to walk.
If you had an afternoon to yourself, how would you spend it?
An afternoon for me will be spent running up a mountain for sure
Who do you regard as your mentor?
I think a mentor could be an invaluable asset to have. I would appreciate a mentor’s ability to listen and at time even be a shoulder we might need to rely on. I do have an industry mentor who really tries to listen. Even as a wealthy middle aged white man (everything I am not) we have had success having conversations over some difficult topics. Gender equality comes up all the time, and it is fascinating to share our stories given how the world treats us so differently. I wish we could extend a female mentoring circle in STEM careers.
What personal attributes have you used to overcome adversity in your life?
I think being open to change has been quite useful for me in this journey, it has helped me to come out of hard times more powerful as I found how I have changed (most of the times for better) so far in my life. Another thing has been the ability to find positives (a bit of humour), I must admit at times it takes quite an effort to see the hidden beauty that life has provided even though there has been real painful episodes. I have a sign I carry and always look at, it says “this shall pass”
If you could make one change to women’s lives, what would it be and why?
Demolish the whole concept of gender roles, I find the idea of gender roles archaic and something that has no place in modern humanity the way we have evolved to live at this date. It is limiting and damaging. Leaves us in confusion and misunderstanding, around ourselves and others
What is the hardest part of your job?
I think “people” issues. I find the technical aspects and problems quite easier to deal with, office politics and personalities that come to projects take a lot more work and energy to deal with.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to success in your field?
I would urge the younger females not to be scared of entering engineering, it is fascinating to learn how stuff are made, how things work and gender-specific works can never serve humanity at the end, there is a lot female engineers can contribute to the world around them. I have been lucky to have worked with some amazing men too, which made me discover a lot about myself and overall confidence and skill sets. The world out there is quite wild and a great pace to learn and discover. Get into it