Inspired by her home country and scholarly journey, Nina Ansary set out to shatter the stereotypical assumptions and the often misunderstood story of women in Iran today. Highlighting many courageous female leaders and advocates throughout Iran's history, Nina's goal was to illuminate the unanticipated consequences of the Islamic Revolution and the unexpected twists and turns leading to a full-blown feminist movement within a post-revolutionary patriarchal society.
To help get the word out, Nina authored a book titled Jewels of Allah: The Untold Story of Women in Iran to build a discussion and awareness for the feminist movement in Iran. The book chronicles the journey of the feminist movement in Iran, spanning decades throughout history, and highlights women Iran who have overcome unspeakable odds to accomplish amazing things - astronauts, mathematicians, athletes, doctors, and so on.
To build a discussion and community of readers, Nina began posting short stories of women in Iran on social media who have succeeded in their passions and dreams. This quickly steamrolled, leading to Nina amassing over 400,000 followers on social media within just a few years.
Nina piggybacked the success of her social media campaign with international press tour to begin placing Nina in a more mainstream light, hoping to bridge the gap from those in the Middle East to those in the West. No matter where you live, we're the same. We all face challenges and adversity and we can all learn from the amazing women in Iran who have persevered. This led to appearances on Larry King, BBC, Fox News, and more along with Nina being profiled by Marie Claire, NY Times, Teen Vogue, and many others.
Nina then produced a book trailer for Jewels of Allah that has generated over 1 million views across all online platforms, leading to a solo segment on BBC's flagship program "BBC World News." BBC played the book trailer in front of 30million viewers, and gave Nina a 10 minute stand alone segment.
To cap it off, 100% of all proceeds from the sale of Jewels of Allah will go to charitable organizations and institutions, with the primary recipient being the OMID Foundation, a 501(c)(3) registered organization that has been empowering disadvantaged young women in Iran for over 10 years.
Jewels of Allah quickly became a bestseller, winning many national and international book awards, including:
* International Book Award in "Women's Issues"
* Eric Hoffer Award for "Best Culture Book"
* Eric Hoffer Award for "Best Book Cover"
* Eric Hoffer Award for "Best Debut Author"
* Indie Book Award for "Historical Nonfiction"
* Indie Book Award for "Women's Issues"
* ForeWord INDIEFAB Award for "Women's Studies"
* Best Book Award for "Women's Issues"
The popularity of the book trailer for Jewels of Allah generated interested from Hollywood, and a documentary is now being considered. It was also bootlegged in Iran (where it was previously banned), translated into Farsi, and has gone viral within the country.
The success of the book has made Nina a go-to thought leader for issues coming out of Iran, and she is continually sought out to speak on mainstream news programs. This has lead to Nina becoming a Fellow Professor at the London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace and Security, alongside Angelina Jolie, as well as upcoming keynote speaking engagements and panels at United Nations events, Omid, IAWF, and more.
Inspired by the success of the first book, Nina is finishing her second book, Riddle of the Divine Feminine, currently slated for Fall 2019 publication.
