Anisa's story

From her first day of school in Iran, Anisa Memari felt like an outsider. As members of the Baha’i faith, Anisa and her family faced daily discrimination. Baha’is in Iran are denied the right to practise their religion freely, are barred from entering university, vocational colleges and certain professions and face harassment and arbitrary arrest by government authorities.

As a child, Anisa was constantly reminded by teachers that she would never be able to succeed because she was of the “wrong religion”.

“In Iran, the Baha’i faith is considered to be the ‘wrong religion’ and the people that follow the religion are not given the same rights as others and are unable to succeed.”

Distressed and frustrated by her experiences of exclusion, Anisa looked for alternative ways to express herself. She took up painting at the age of four and began to write poetry at twelve.

“I began writing and painting everything I felt. Anything that touched my heart I found was easier to put on paper than to say.”

Anisa was awarded fourth place in a state poetry competition, but was prevented from competing in the national competition due to her faith. She eventually decided to abandon a career in poetry writing and focus on her education.

Despite being told that she would never succeed, Anisa achieved outstanding academic results and was dux at her high school. However, rather than receiving the accolades she deserved, Anisa was instead denied her dux award and barred from attending university.

“You can try and put as much effort into the things you do, but people won’t respect you because you aren’t the ‘right faith’.”

In 2000, her family’s situation took another tragic turn when her father was involved in a near-fatal accident that left him a paraplegic. They approached the police to seek damages but after several months and numerous interviews, Anisa's family was told that they would not be able to receive compensation.

"In Iran we were not able to take the matter to the court as it is very difficult or I better say impossible for Baha'is to have lawyers defending them at court...[the police] told us after many times of chasing and follow ups and interviews that even if you go to court, you can't have lawyers and the judge would not award you damages since you are Baha'is."

Anisa's family was left with no alternative but to sell their business, home and possessions to pay for her father's costly medical treatment. With their situation becoming unbearable, Anisa’s family decided to flee Iran. Her mother and sisters escaped to Turkey by car, with Anisa and her father travelling by plane.

“We tried to leave Iran three times, but me and my dad kept getting questioned. The fourth time I just told them I wanted to study and ‘I can’t do that here, so just let us go’ and they let us leave.”

For three more years, Anisa was forced to put her education on hold as her family underwent the lengthy process of applying for refugee status and seeking resettlement. At the end of 2002, after countless interviews and meetings with lawyers, Anisa’s family arrived in Sydney, just in time to celebrate the New Year and the beginning of their new life.

While her family was now safe from persecution, Anisa still had many challenges ahead of her. The task of learning a new language was particularly difficult for Anisa. She decided to undertake a short course at an Intensive English Centre and repeat her final two years of high school.

“High school in Australia felt more natural because people were more accepting of me and I wasn’t left out because of my religion…I finished high school in Australia first in my grade again and was able to receive my dux award.”

Making up for lost time, Anisa undertook a combined degree in Advanced Science and Law at the University of Sydney, with a focus on medical science and a major in neuroanatomy and human physiology. She initially planned to continue her studies in medicine and was accepted into several Australian universities, but ultimately decided to take a different path. Her first-hand experiences of persecution and witnessing UN lawyers deal with harrowing asylum cases have inspired Anisa to seek out a profession which will allow her to make a difference.

“Ultimately I would love to work for the UN.”

Anisa remains mindful of the plight of Baha’is in Iran and held an exhibition of her paintings that reflect her past experiences of exclusion.

“It was a lot of fun. People really enjoyed the paintings and interpreting the images.”

She cherishes her new-found freedom in Australia and is looking forward to pursuing her goals in a country where her faith will present no barrier to her success.

“I am so happy that here in Australia I am able to have a dream and am able to work towards it.”