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Maryam is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology, Koch university, Istanbul where she has lived for 7 years with her husband, a PhD graduate engineer from Iran.
She was born in the city of Tabriz in Iran where she grew up in a family of 4 and was educated to second level. Maryam migrated from Iran to Turkey for two primary reasons – firstly to pursue a personal long-held aspiration to migrate but also to follow her then fiancé who had been offered a graduate scholarship in Turkey. Migration is quite a common pathway for many young Iranians who wish to experience new things and also avoid the perceived cultural expectations of young Iranian people living in Iran. Educational opportunities in London and Dublin facilitated her current profession as Senior Research Fellow with expertise in the Western Balkans and post conflict societies.
Maryam identifies a close connection between transnational migration and institutionally facilitated educational opportunities in Europe. She also recognizes the negotiation and compromise that takes place between couples or families to accommodate sometimes conflicting goals of those on the move.
During her interview, Maryam states that “as a woman I planned to migrate. I mean, before I had a relationship, I imagined my life beyond my own country all the time, but when it came to the action itself, I kind of find myself following someone else… So I wouldn’t say it’s just because of woman being a woman. But being a family just brings this, all constraints for your journey that you have to follow each other in different stages.».
Interview conducted by Elaine Moriarty on 11/12/23 online
To cite this interview, Moriarty, Elaine (11/12/2023). Interview of Maryam (from Iran to Turkey) length: 2:37mn.