In 2020 I became the first out LGBTQ+ Iranian elected anywhere in the world, the first woman of color and second queer woman on the West Hollywood City Council, and in 2023 the first female Iranian American mayor in the United States. I passed people-centered, future-forward policies while enduring xenophobia, Islamophobia, lesbophobia, antisemitism, misogyny and threats from neo-Nazis, Islamic regime operatives, fragile white liberals and even law enforcement leadership. After four years on the council and two years on boards and commissions, I stepped away from politics to reclaim peace, creativity and joy. My advocacy is now grounded, embodied and deeply personal, focused on healing, travel and taking up space on my terms.
After four years of elected service on the West Hollywood City Council and two additional years on city boards and commissions, I made a conscious decision to choose myself. I stepped away from politics to reclaim my peace, my creativity, and my joy. I had spent so much time fighting for others' freedoms that I had neglected my own. I am entering a softer, more feminine era of my life, one rooted in healing, travel, and soulful experience.
I've always believed that being present in places where we are not always welcome is a powerful form of advocacy. I have been active and made my mark in many such places. But now, my advocacy has a different tone. It is not loud or legislative. It is grounded, embodied, and deeply personal. It is about taking up space on my terms.
My first destination on this journey was Marrakesh, Morocco. Marrakesh is a city I had long yearned to visit but deeply feared. As a woman, as a queer person, and as a liberal Muslim-born Iranian, I carried layers of anxiety about traveling to a predominantly Muslim country where LGBTQ+ people are criminalized. To create a layer of safety, I traveled with my business partner, a fellow LGBTQ+
#lgbtq-representation #iranian-american #local-government #harassment-and-threats #healing-and-travel
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