Mardjan Seighali
Mardjan Seighali (born 1964) is an Iranian-born Dutch human rights activist, refugee worker and non-profit director. In 2013 Seighali became director of the Stichting voor Vluchteling Studenten UAF (Refugee Students Foundation). She serves on the Advisory Board of the College voor de Rechten van de Mens, and a member of the Supervisory Board of Het Loo Palace. Biography Youth Mardjan Seighali was born in 1964 in the northern Iranian city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea. Until the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution in 1978, Seighali had a protected family life, but the fall of the Shah inspired her to take an interest in politics. Adult life in Iran After the Revolution was hijacked by Islamists in 1979, Seighali joined a progressive party to fight for freedom and equal opportunities. She distributed pamphlets and attended meetings where she participated in discussions. Because of these oppositional political activities, she had to go in hiding for a few months at her aunt's home in Tehran when she was 17 years old; however, there was little she could do in daily life because she had to remain out of sight. Eventually she was able to persuade her father to let her celebrate Nowruz