{{Short description|Iranian-Dutch politician (born 1960)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Farah Karimi | image = Farah Karimi discusses impressions with OSCE - 52904677716 (cropped).jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|11|15|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Yasukand]], [[Iran]] | death_date = | death_place = | office = [[Senate (Netherlands)|Member of the Senate]] | term_start = 2 July 2019 | term_end = | predecessor = | successor = | constituency = | majority = | party = [[GreenLeft]] (since 1997) | spouse = | alma_mater = {{plainlist| *[[Isfahan University of Technology]] *[[University of Kiel]] *[[University of Groningen]] }} | website = | footnotes = | office1 = Member of the [[House of Representatives of the Netherlands|House of Representatives]] | term_start1 = 19 May 1998 | term_end1 = 30 November 2006 | other_party = [[People's Mujahedin of Iran|People's Mujahedin]] (1980–1986) }}
'''Farahnaz "Farah" Karimi''' ({{langx|fa|فرح کريمی}}; born 15 November 1960 in [[Yasukand]], [[Iran]]) is an [[Iran]]ian-[[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[Politics of the Netherlands|politician]]. She was a member of the [[House of Representatives (Netherlands)|House of Representatives of the Netherlands]] between 1998 and 2006 for the [[GreenLeft]] party. Since 2019 she has been a Senator for the GreenLeft party.
==Early life and education== Karimi was born in Iran in 1960. She received [[primary education]] and [[secondary education]] in [[Tehran]], between 1966 and 1978. In 1978 she went to the [[Isfahan University of Technology]] to study [[industrial design]]. From the age of 15, Karimi became interested in progressive interpretations of [[Islam]] and in [[Ali Shariati]].<ref name="VK">[http://farah2007.karimix.de/fileadmin/images/fka/publicaties/Ontsnapt_aan_de_willekeur.pdf Ontsnapt aan de willekeur] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910222333/http://farah2007.karimix.de/fileadmin/images/fka/publicaties/Ontsnapt_aan_de_willekeur.pdf |date=10 September 2008 }} in [[De Volkskrant]]</ref> In her youth, Karimi was involved in the resistance against [[Shah]] [[Mohammed Reza Pahlavi]] and campaigned for democracy and [[human rights]] in Iran. Karimi saw the [[Iranian Revolution]] as a moment to put a form of [[Islamic socialism]] into practice.<ref name="VK"/> Instead, the Iranian revolution brought a conservative religious government into power.<ref name="VK"/>
In 1980, Karimi left the university to join the [[Mojahedin-e Khalgh]], a left-Islamistic<ref name="VK"/> armed resistance movement against the [[Government of Islamic Republic of Iran|Islamic Republic government]].
In 1983 she fled from Iran to [[Germany]], where she was granted [[political asylum]].<ref name="Trouw"/>
In 1986 Karimi broke with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh. In her 2005 book ''The Secret of Fire'' Karimi describes her experiences with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh, and her break with the organization.<ref name="Trouw">[http://farah2007.karimix.de/fileadmin/images/fka/publicaties/Van_rood_islamisme_naar_GroenLinks.pdf Van rood islamisme naar GroenLinks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910222336/http://farah2007.karimix.de/fileadmin/images/fka/publicaties/Van_rood_islamisme_naar_GroenLinks.pdf |date=10 September 2008 }} in [[Trouw]] 27-05-2005 reproduced on Karimix.de</ref>
In [[Hamburg]], Germany, Karimi attended a college for foreign students in 1985.
Between 1986 and 1988 [[mathematics]] and [[information science]] at [[University of Kiel]]. Between 1983 and 1988 Karimi was active in different refugee groups in Germany and France.<ref name="parlement"/><ref name="Trouw"/>
In 1989, Karimi went to [[the Netherlands]] with her family. At the [[University of Groningen]], Karimi studied "International Relations and International Organizations". She also obtained the [[Dutch nationality law|Dutch nationality]].
==Career== In 1993, Karimi began to work in the semi-public sector. Between 1993 and 1994, she began to work for the foundation Probe in [[Hoogezand-Sappemeer]]. Since 1994, she worked as a coordinator for Aisa, a project for the emancipation and support of black, migrant and refugee women.
In 1997, she became a member of the [[GreenLeft]] party.<ref name="parlement">[http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/02255 Drs. F. Karimi] op parlement.com</ref> In April 1998, she became a board member of GreenLeft.
In 1998 she was a national project leader for "[[Heel de Buurt]]" of the [[Dutch Institute for Care and Welfare]]. Karimi was also active in civil society. Between 1991 and 2001, she was a member of the Board of [[Vluchtelingenorganisaties Nederland]]. [[File:ProDemos.JPG|thumb|A debate led by [[Jan Terlouw]]]]
===Political life=== In the [[1998 Dutch general election|1998 elections]] Karimi was elected to the [[House of Representatives of the Netherlands|House of Representatives]] for GreenLeft.<ref name="Trouw"/> In the House of Representatives, she was involved in the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)|foreign affairs]], development cooperation, European affairs and [[Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)|defense]]. As such, she was vice chair of the permanent committee for European Affairs. She also was a member of the committee for [[Ministry of Justice (Netherlands)|justice]]. In 1999 she was one of two MPs (the other one was [[Ineke van Gent]]) who voted in favour of a motion of [[Harry van Bommel]] to end the [[1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|NATO bombing]]s which were part of the [[Kosovo War]].<ref name="parlement"/>
In 2003, she proposed, together with [[Niesco Dubbelboer]] of the [[Dutch Labour Party|PvdA]] and [[Boris van der Ham]] of the [[D'66|D66]], to hold a [[2005 Dutch European Constitution referendum|referendum]] on the [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]]. The proposal became law in 2005. She also questioned the Minister [[Jozias van Aartsen]] on the [[American Service-Members' Protection Act]], which obliges the American government to free American citizens who are brought to the [[International Criminal Court]] in [[The Hague]] -even with the use of violence- and Minister [[Ben Bot]] on the Dutch support for the [[Iraq War]]. She also took the initiative to support free Iranian Media, [[Rooz]] and [[Radio Zamaneh]], with 15 million euros. This was accepted by the House of Representatives at the end of 2004. Karimi did not put herself forward as a candidate in the [[2006 Dutch general election|2006 elections]].
Karimi was the executive director of [[Oxfam Novib]] until 2018. In 2009 and 2010 she chaired the SHO, a group of cooperating humanitarian aid organizations. She is also a board member of the broadcaster [[VPRO]] and the IDH ([[Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative]]). Between 2006 and 2007 she served on the board of Parliamentarians for [[Global Action]] in New York. In 2007 she helped to establish the Afghan parliament as a consultant with the UN branch UNDP. As an administrator, she was involved with the advisory board of the [[International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World]], among other projects.
For her work, Karimi traveled extensively to conflict regions. In May 2005, she visited the [[Politics of Iran#Political pressure groups and leaders|opposition in Iran]]. She was interrogated at the Teheran airport and information was copied from her diary. This led to a formal protest by Minister Bot to the Iranian ambassador.<ref name="parlement"/>
The main themes of her work in the House of Representatives were human right and international law in [[foreign relations of the Netherlands]]. She paid particular attention to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the developments in Afghanistan and Iran. She wrote about it in her books "Battlefield Afghanistan" and "The Secret of Fire".
===Life after politics=== [[File:Farah Karimi - Persian Dutch politician - Oxfam Novib Director 2013.png|thumb|left|Farah Karimi giving a lecture at [[Leiden University]], 2013]] In early 2007, Karimi worked for the [[United Nations Development Programme]], where she was a senior consultant for the UNDP in [[Afghanistan]] for project SEAL ([[Support to the Establishment of the Afghan Legislator]]).<ref name="CV">[http://farah2007.karimix.de/karimi0/ Farah Karimi] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925154417/http://farah2007.karimix.de/karimi0/ |date=2008-09-25 }} on FarahKarimi.nl</ref> There she taught and supported different committees of the [[National Assembly of Afghanistan]].<ref name="parlement"/>
In November 2007 she was appointed general director of Oxfam Novib. She succeeded [[Sylvia Borren]].
Karimi is also active in civil society. She writes for ''[[Rooz]]'', a free, Persian online newspaper. Since 2004, she has been a member of the Board of Advice of the [[International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World]] in [[Leiden]]. In 2006, she founded [[Bridging the Gulf]], a foundation for [[human security]] in the Middle East]. Between 2006 and 2007, she was a member of the board of [[Parliamentarians for Global Action]] in New York.<ref name="CV"/>
==Personal life== Karimi has been married twice. Her first husband was also involved in the [[Mojahedin-e Khalgh]]. When she broke from the organization in 1986 she also broke with him.
She has one son with her first husband, who was born when Karimi fled from Iran. In 1989 she was married again. Karimi speaks [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[English language|English]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]] and [[German language|German]].<ref name="VK"/>
==Selected works== * ''Slagveld Afghanistan'' (El secreto del fuego: mi vida contra el fanatismo islámico/Battlefield Afghanistan) (2006) (Dutch, Spanish and English Edition) {{ISBN|978-8-467-02273-5}} * ''Het geheim van het vuur'' (The Secret of Fire) (2005) together with [[Chris Keulemans]] * ''In naam van de vrijheid: hoe onze wereld na 9/11 steeds onvrijer is geworden'' (In the name of freedom: how our world has become increasingly unfree after 9/11), 2021 (Dutch and English Edition) {{ISBN|978-9-046-82875-5}}
==See also== *[[Iranians in the Netherlands]] *[[List of famous Persian women|List of famous Iranian women]]
==References== [https://www.writersunlimited.nl/en/participant/farah-karimi Farah Karimi] {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}} * [http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/02255 Drs. Farah Karimi] on parlement.com * [https://en.unesco.org/ipdc-talks/ms-farah-karimi Farah Karimi's profile at UNESCO] * [https://repository.ubn.ru.nl/handle/2066/94301 Civilian Diplomacy in the Gulf Region. An interview with Farah Karimi] * [https://www.wise-qatar.org/biography/farah-karimi/ Farah Karimi's biography] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6B5ebc8yW8 Farah Karimi Speech at Human Rights Day Seminar, Leiden University, Dec. 2013] (VIDEO) * [https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/article-author/farah-karimi/ Farah Karimi - Green European Journal]
{{Members of the Senate of the Netherlands, 2023–2027}} {{Members of the Senate of the Netherlands, 2019–2023}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karimi, Farah}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Iranian emigrants to the Netherlands]] [[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands)]] [[Category:Iranian women writers]] [[Category:Iranian writers]] [[Category:People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran members]] [[Category:GroenLinks politicians]] [[Category:Dutch corporate directors]] [[Category:Dutch women in politics]] [[Category:Dutch politicians of Iranian descent]]