“I Believe I'm A ‘SAVVY' Woman Because….

“I believe inequality of gender and in standing up for myself. My ‘Never Give Up’ attitude has taken me to wonderful places. I am a strong woman today because of my experiences in life…” — Mandana Karimi

- Bhavana Choudhari

In the beginning, I was shocked, in pain, grieving. But slowly, I picked up my courage. I took small baby steps to start all over again. And today, I have found myself…

LIVING A STIFLED LIFE IN IRAN

I was born and brought up in Tehran, Iran. My father, Reza Karimi, is an Iranian and my mother, Saba Karimi, is an Indian Sunni Muslim. I come from a very traditional, middle-class Iranian family, and used to wear the hijab when I was a kid.

I remember secretly repeating movie dialogues in front of the mirror. I was also very shy and never left my mum’s side. I was close to my grandmother too; she was a fun-loving person who would tell me, ‘Do what you want, be happy, laugh, take care of your family and just do what makes you happy’. Even now when I remember her, her memories bring a big smile on my face.

When I was a kid, I remember telling my parents, ‘I am not from here; I am so different from all of you and you’ll don’t understand me’. But I really felt I was different compared to all my cousins. Now when I think about it, it all makes sense. They (my cousins) were set for a life which their parents and grandparents always followed, which is when you are 17-18 years old, you have to get married, have babies, cook, clean and wait for your husband to return. There wasn’t much to do back then in Iran! Life was pretty much the same every day.

FROM A FLIGHT ATTENDANT TO MODELLING