不仅仅是个美人...
Nazanin Afshin-Jam (
Persian: نازنین افشینجم, born April 11, 1979) is an
Iranian-Canadian entertainer, public speaker and human rights activist. She is a former
Miss World Canada. She is also president and co-founder of
Stop Child Executions. She immigrated to Canada with her family in 1981. She is married to
Peter MacKay, as of 2013, Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
Education and Red Cross work
Afshin-Jam graduated from the
University of British Columbia with degrees in international relations and political science.
[1] Following her matriculation, Afshin-Jam served with the Red Cross as a Global Youth Educator,
[1] becoming involved in such matters as
land mines, children and war, the poverty-disease cycle, and natural disasters.
[2] She returned to university and received M.A. in diplomacy with a concentration in international conflict management from Norwich University.[
when?]
[2]
Miss World competition
In 2003, Afshin-Jam became
Miss World Canada and joined in the
Miss World contest in
Sanya,
China, where she ranked second.
[3]
Activism and awards
Afshin-Jam was opposed to the
death penalty being applied to 18-year-old Iranian woman
Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi, who was sentenced to
hang for stabbing one of three men who tried to
rape her and her niece in
Karaj in March 2005.
[4] She started a campaign to help save the life of this minor including a
petition which attracted more than 350,000 signatures worldwide.
[5] She has also dedicated her song
Someday, one of the twelve songs on her similarly titled album
Someday to
Nazanin Fatehi.
[6] Eventually, with pressure from the international community, Nazanin Fatehi was granted a new trial by the head of Judiciary in June 2006. In January 2007, Nazanin Fatehi was exonerated of murder charges and was released after Afshin-Jam raised $43,000 on-line for bail while her lawyers worked on her case.
[7] For her efforts in helping save Nazanin Fatehi, Afshin-Jam was awarded the "hero for human rights award" from Youth For Human Rights International
[8] and Artists for Human Rights.
[9] The Tale of Two Nazanins by Afshin-Jam and Susan McClelland, chronicling the divergent lives of the 2 Iranian Nazanins whose lives intersected during Fatehi's trial, was published by HarperCollins.
[10]
Afshin-Jam initiated
Stop Child Executions Campaign and petition to help other children on death row; the campaign was registered as a non-profit organization with 501-C 3 status in 2008.[
citation needed] She is co-founder and President of Stop Child Executions Organization, whose aim is to try to put a permanent end to executions of minors in Iran and abroad.
[11]
On September 23, 2008, Afshin-Jam organized "Ahmadinejad's Wall of Shame" rally at
Dag Hammarskjöld park across the United Nations in New York as Ahmadinejad was addressing the General Assembly.
[12] In November 2008, Afshin-Jam received the "Global Citizenship Award" by the University of British Columbia's Alumni Association
[13] In April 2009, Afshin-Jam received the "Human Rights Hero Award" from
UN Watch in Geneva, Switzerland.
[14]
In 2009, Afshin-Jam signed an open letter of apology posted to
Iranian.com along with 266 other Iranian academics, writers, artists, journalists about the
Persecution of Bahá'ís.
[15] That same year she chaired the first annual
Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.
[16] In 2012, she advocated for the closure of Canadian embassy in Tehran.
[17]
Documentary film work
Afshin-Jam participated, together with eight other women's rights activists, in the documentary film
Honor Diaries which explores the issues of gender-based violence and inequality in Muslim-majority societies. Her personal story was featured alongside those of the other activists, all of whom are working to combat gender prejudice that is embedded in honor-based societies.
[18]
Music
Afshin-Jam's debut album,
Someday was released in April 2007 by
Bodog Music. It spans many different music genres, including
world music influenced by
Alabina.
[19]
Several of Afshin-Jam's songs have made the Top 30 and Top 40 charts. Her debut single, "I Dance 4 U" charted at #20 in the Music Week - Commercial Pop Top 30 Club Chart (a music video for the song has been released).[
citation needed] Afshim-Jam's single "Someday" has been climbing the FMQB Top 40 chart in the U.S. and is currently at #7.
[20] Her new single "I Do" reached #39 on the Billboard Chart in adult contemporary music. A Christmas single "On Christmas Day" has also made the charts, ranking #59 on the ACQB chart.[
citation needed] The proceeds from the song are contributed to the Stop Child Executions Campaign.
[21]
Personal life
Afshin-Jam was born in
Tehran, Iran. A licensed pilot, she flies both powered aircraft and gliders and achieved the highest rank in the
Royal Canadian Air Cadets—Warrant Officer First Class.
[22] On January 4, 2012, Afshin-Jam married
Peter MacKay, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (as of 2013),
[23] at a private ceremony in Mexico.
[24] The couple has one son born in 2013.
[25]