Trading Scalpels For Scripts

Mohammad Ali's photograph hung everywhere in the house.

- FARHAN SHAH

Not the famous heavyweight boxer, but Dr. Iman Taheri's great-grandfather, who was one of the first Western-educated doctors in Iran. The man travelled to Europe to study medicine when such journeys were legendary acts in themselves. A young Iman kept seeing his face during his childhood, which set a standard even before he could utter his first words.

"Everyone talked about him with respect," Iman says, his velvet Persian accent in full display. "I think it impacted me a lot to become a doctor."

In Middle Eastern and Asian cultures, family approval often comes through excelling in education. Medicine seemed inevitable.

It was a convergence of legacy and expectation. And for years, he lived that inevitability. He became a general surgeon, specialising in trauma and emergency medicine. Then he spent two years in Southeast Iran, working in war zones where shootings and conflicts were common and made him appreciate mortality a lot more.

"You deal with life and death every day," he says, his voice dropping to something quieter. "You see everything can change overnight. It's a humbling experience."