Born on March 11th, 1935, Pari Abasalti was always a writer. As a child, she participated in school’s literary programs. She participated in a contest in high school that required writing and drawing an essay titled ”The Ideal World,” in which she drew and outlined and wrote about her journey where she would fly to Michigan, study medicine, would go back to Iran, and practice medicine in the underprivileged rural area and would be in pursuit of service to people. She did win that contest, and her essay and drawing were published in the only magazine exclusively for students in Iran with her picture on the cover.

Later, while still in high school, she was the only girl along with six boys who were chosen among 2,500 participants from Iran for a contest organized by the UN for students worldwide to write an essay titled “The World We Want.” She continued her writing passion throughout High School by producing the school’s newspaper.

She continued her dream of becoming a physician and took the entrance test to enter medical school. However, her passion for writing and literature was more vigorous, and she pursued a BA in Liberal Arts from the College of Literature of the University of Tehran and ultimately a master’s degree in Psychology and Education. Her ease of conversation, interest in other people’s opinions, and gathering of information allowed women in Iran at the time to open another door.

“Ette-laat” Newspaper began the publication of the first women’s magazine called “Ette-laat e Ba-no-von.” In its first issue, they asked aspiring writers to submit a writing sample for a chance to join the staff. Pari Abasalti wrote a report about her college and, upon its submission, won the heart of publishers and was asked to join the magazine as a reporter. Working in that magazine changed her life in personal, social, and public aspects.

There, she met Mr. Houshang Mirhashem, who shared her passion for writing. In her personal life, she found a lifetime partner. Their marriage is what the legends are made of, working and living together for decades; their love for each other, writing, life, and politics.

In her public life, she began to work as the first woman reporter in Iran when the progressive change had not taken place to facilitate the work environment for women. She embarked on a lifelong of writing with her first assignment interviewing the woman in charge of the Office of Family Affairs in Iran. It was later when accommodating family law and women’s rights policies and law had changed women’s lives in Iran and opened opportunities for women beyond their dreams, from running a small office to becoming a judge.

“Ette-laat e Ba-no-von” established a social gathering place for women only called Girl’s and Women’s Club. Mrs. Pari Abasalti Mirhashem managed the club and was instrumental in establishing many wonderful outlets for women to participate in activities and learn new skills in a safe place. The club offered an opportunity for women to learn an array of subjects, including but not limited to Pattern and dressmaking, cooking, typing, and the English language. The club also opened the door for women’s sports; many national games were played and won by its women’s sports teams. She also established a weekly event where famous singers would perform for the members so they could enjoy the live music, which would have been impossible otherwise.

When it was time to have a new Editor in Chief for “Ette-laat Ba-no-von” magazine, she became the first-ever woman Editor in Chief of a magazine in Iran. In her new role, she was invited to foreign countries to report about them in Iran. She was granted interviews by public figures, including Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman astronaut. She had met with editors of International publications such as “The New York Times, Daily Telegram, and The Guardian. She traveled across the world from Ethiopia to Venezuela along with His Royal Highness Shah of Iran and her Royal Highness Farah as the official reporter.

Her position as the Editor was one of many outcomes of the change in the landscape of women’s rights in Iran at the time. The continuation and momentum of this change in Iran’s political ground and Mrs. Pari Abasalti Mirhahsem’s strength as an individual whose foresight had facilitated her growth brought her to an even more groundbreaking plateau in her life. What she did with opportunity is what makes her even more exceptional. She participated in many charity organizations such as the “Center of Blinds” under the guidance of Her Royal Highness Farah Pahlavi. Her relentless desire to be part of the change was instrumental for hundreds of students to be able to pursue higher education in Europe through public grants from “The Pahalvy Foundation,” for which she gathered information and completed the process.

She eventually put her name as a candidate to become a Member of Parliament, and on the election and became the Member of Parliament and served in this capacity. At the time of upheaval in Iran before the 1979 change, she was asked to publish Khomeini’s picture on the cover of “Ette-laat e Ba-no-von.” She was against it and, in defiance, left the country, thinking she and Mr. Mirhashem would visit their son, who was a student in the US and would go back when the fever of Khomeini was settled. While in the US, they were urged not to go back. They stayed, and a few weeks’ visits became the start of life as immigrants.

They stayed and did what they were good at; they wrote. She first attended NYU for a Doctorate in journalism, and after a year, she and Mr. Mirhashem moved to Los Angeles and began a new adventure; this is how Rah-E-Zendegi started over 40 years ago. Their departure from Iran was not intended as immigration; therefore, no financial plan was made, and publication of the magazine in a foreign land became the soul of their survival.

After some years, Radio Iran, the only Iranian Radio at the time in the US, approached her due to her experience in working in Radio back in Iran for over ten years producing and broadcasting about women’s progress in Iran to do the same in an hour-long daily talk show which would cover news, interviews, and entertainment. So she started a new venture alongside the publication of Rah-E-Zendegi. The daily reporting of the world’s news and affair, providing helpful information alongside what now is available through social media at a time when social media did not exist, made her daily talk show one of the most popular radio programs, which she performed where ever she was at the time of broadcasting even while traveling.

Traveling was due to another venue she began to pursue shortly after the daily talk show’s broadcasting started. While in Iran, she organized several trips for the Girls and Women’s club members. Because of her extensive travels around the world, both in her personal life along with Mr. Mirhashem and their son and professional capacity, this was a natural order of events. Organizing tours inside the US and internationally, managing the logistic of the trips, and accompanying the participants for the duration of trips while providing constant entertainment with a full schedule; made the touring endeavor one of the most successful among providers of such service.

Her activities in the Iranian community led her to be three times the president of the Coalition of Iranian Entrepreneurs and twice the president of the Rancho Rotary Club. This was achieved while publishing the Rah-E-Zendegi”, hosting the radio talk show, and managing her touring services.

Their son, whom they came to visit, went to earn a post-doctorate degree in physics and decided instead to do something more meaningful. He went back to school and became an attorney. After years of working as a public defender and federal public defender, he is now the Director of Criminal Clinic at New Hampshire University, teaching law. One of his two daughters followed Mrs. Pari Abasalti Mirhashem’s footsteps and is a writer and one of the editors of “Outside” publication; the other is a Psychologist. in premed to become a physician. In her granddaughters, she has fulfilled her two desired subjects in life; medicine and writing.