Your story
I would like to hear your story.
My name is Fatemeh Ekhtesari. I am a writer and poet, and I know what it means to leave a country where laws, institutions and social expectations can restrict women's choices and shape the course of their lives.
Through this project, I am speaking with women now living in Norway about the lives they lived before and the lives they are building here — including the freedoms they had, the restrictions they faced, the ways they adapted or resisted, and what changed after they left.
If any of this speaks to your experience, I would like to hear from you.
Different journeys, different voices
Every Experience is unique.
Women experience these kinds of restrictions in very different ways. Some resisted them openly. Some found ways to navigate or work around them. Others may not have questioned them until they left.
When restrictions on women are systematic and form part of the laws, institutions and rules of everyday life, some people use the term gender apartheid to describe the system. You do not need to use that term yourself, or feel that it describes your whole experience, to take part in this project.
Life in Norway is different for every woman too. It can be liberating, difficult, unexpected — and often all three.
There is no experience you are expected to have, and no story you are expected to tell.
A life in context
We want to understand the whole picture.
We are interested in childhood, family, education, work, relationships, hopes, restrictions, resistance and ordinary everyday life.
We also want to hear about leaving, coming to Norway and building a life here. What changed? What became possible? What remained difficult? Are there ways in which the past still shapes life today?
Your story may contain repression and loss, but it may also contain friendship, humour, love, achievement and joy.
This project is about women’s lives, not only the systems that restricted them.
Taking part
Contacting me does not mean saying yes.
You are welcome to get in touch simply to ask questions or find out more.
You do not have to decide whether you want to be interviewed before contacting us. You can share as much or as little as you feel comfortable sharing in a first conversation.
If you decide to take part, we will explain the interview process and how the material may be used before we begin.
If you decide to take part, you choose what you want to discuss. You can skip questions or subjects, and we will agree with you how you are identified and what material may be used publicly.
There is no pressure. Taking part is your choice.
Privacy and safety
Your safety comes first.
We understand that speaking about family, governments, religion, political activity or experiences of repression can sometimes carry risks for you or for people you know.
If protecting your identity is important, tell us. We can discuss what information should remain private, how you could be identified and what precautions may be appropriate.
Taking part in an interview does not mean that everything you tell us will automatically be made public.
Before anything is published, you should understand what it will be used for and what you have agreed to.
Talk to Fatemeh
You can start with a conversation.
If you think your experience might be relevant to the project — or if you are simply unsure and would like to ask a question — you are welcome to contact me.
You do not need to write your story in the form below. A few words are enough to begin.
Contact Fatemeh
Please do not include sensitive details in this form. We can discuss a safer way to continue the conversation if necessary.