From Miniskirt to Hijab: A Girl in Revolutionary Iran
Date and time: Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 11 am Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7) | 2 pm Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
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Jacqueline Saper was born and raised in a Jewish family in Tehran, Iran. In her childhood, she experienced life in Iran’s thriving Jewish community governed by a Western-leaning monarch or the “Shah.” But in 1979, at age 18, she experienced the tumultuous Iranian revolution. While many members of her community sought asylum abroad, she and her family remained, expecting (and hoping) that the strictures imposed by the new regime would be short-lived. But that would not be the case. She finally fled to the United States with her husband and two small children in 1987.
Her memoir, From Miniskirt to Hijab: A Girl in Revolutionary Iran, is published by Potomac Books of the University of Nebraska Press and has received rave reviews and extensive praise. The book has been featured in The Chicago Sun-Times, The Wilmette Beacon, The Jewish Chronicle of London, England, The JUF Magazine, Curated Chicago Magazine, Israel’s Yedioth Aharonot newspaper, and was Forward Reviews’ Diversity Book of the Week.
Ms. Saper graduated with a bachelor of science degree in Business from Northeastern Illinois University and earned the CPA designation. Jacqueline is a graduate of the Hadassah Leadership Academy and the Florence Melton School (Morasha) for educators. Currently, she also serves as a volunteer for the National Immigrant Justice Center and subtitled the award-winning movie, Alex and Ali. She is the 2018 recipient of Oakton College Distinguished Alumni Award, and a Fellow member at MESA, Middle East Studies Association. Her opinion columns and essays appear in national and international publications and are available on her website. She is also an analyst on current US-Iran affairs and recently appeared on WTTW Chicago Tonight program.
Jacqueline will share with us her memories from Jewish life in Iran, her personal journey and insights from her new book, From Miniskirt to Hijab: A Girl in Revolutionary Iran.
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