Chahdortt Djavann
Chahdortt Djavann (born 1967) is an Iranian-born French contemporary writer, novelist, and essayist. Her works often touch on topics such as identity and memory; and she is outspoken against Islam and Iranian religious leaders. She regularly appears on French television and radio.
Chahdortt Djavann

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- Name
- Chahdortt Djavann
- Born
- 1967
- Birthplace
- Iran
- Education
- School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
- Occupation
- Contemporary writer, novelist, essayist
- Nationality
- France · Iran
- Fields
- literature · anthropology
- Honours
- Prix de la laïcité · Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres · Prix Claude-Farrère
- Languages
- French · Persian
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Documentary summary
Chahdortt Djavann (born 1967) is an Iranian-born French contemporary writer, novelist, and essayist. Her works often touch on topics such as identity and memory; and she is outspoken against Islam and Iranian religious leaders. She regularly appears on French television and radio.
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Note VALÉORINE
Chahdortt Djavann (born 1967) is a French and Iranian anthropologist and writer. The anthropologist was born in Iran.
Chahdortt Djavann studied at School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences. The anthropologist worked in Paris. Chahdortt Djavann is active in anthropology and literature.
Languages used include French and Persian. The anthropologist received Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Prix Claude-Farrère and Prix de la laïcité.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q788200 · wikipedia · Chahdortt Djavann
In this article
Biography
Biography
Chahdortt Djavann studied at School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences. The recorded working language is French and Persian. The field of work recorded is literature and anthropology. Places of work recorded in the authority are Paris. Distinctions recorded are Prix de la laïcité, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and Prix Claude-Farrère.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Chahdortt Djavann • Native Name — شهدخت جوان • Born — 1967 • Birthplace — Iran • Education — School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences • Occupation — Contemporary writer, novelist, essayist
Biography
Biography
Chahdortt Djavann was born in 1967 in Pahlavi Iran; her family was of Azerbaijani descent from an aristocratic line. She left Iran in 1991. First, she moved to Turkey, followed by a move to France in 1993. She attended the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (French: Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales) in Paris. Her novel La Muette (Flammarion, 2008) is the confession of a fifteen-year-old girl sentenced to hang in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Djavann often was on the forefront of political and religious debates, including the veil debates in France, and she has spoken openly on the topic of immigration assimilation. In January 2006, Djavann was a guest on the French television program Culture et Dépendances, where she spoke on "assimilation as liberation". She was awarded the Grand Prix de la Laïcité (2003) for secularism from the Comité Laïcité République association. In 2004, she was honored with the title of Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Her work has sparked both praise and criticism. Djavann was labeled as an experiencing "self-orientalism" by Laetitia Nanquette in the research article French New Orientalist Narratives from the "Natives": Reading More Than Chahdortt Djavann in Paris (2009), published in the academic journal Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Identity
Identity
Chahdortt Djavann is recorded with the occupation anthropologist. Djavann worked at Paris. Recorded as having studied at School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1967
Chahdortt Djavann was born in 1967.
Publications
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Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Chahdortt Djavann”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q788200: Chahdortt Djavann
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Donadio, Rachel. Before Paris Shooting, Authors Tapped Into Mood of a France 'Homesick at Home'. The New York Times. 2015-01-08. 0362-4331.
- 2.Halling, Kirsten. Entretien avec Chahdortt Djavann. Dalhousie French Studies. 92. 139–144. 2010. 0711-8813.
- 3.Chahdortt Djavann, l'enragée tranquille. Le Figaro. 2015-03-20.
- 4.« Et ces êtres sans pénis ! »: Chahdortt Djavann prend sa revanche. Le Monde.fr. 2021-04-22.
- 5.Vaillant, Luc Le. Chahdortt Djavann, démolir les mollahs. Libération.
- 6.Comment lutter efficacement contre l'idéologie islamique?. MondesFrancophones.com. December 11, 2016.
- 7.Nanquette, Laetitia. Orientalism Versus Occidentalism: Literary and Cultural Imaging Between France and Iran Since the Islamic Revolution. Bloomsbury Publishing. 66. 2017-02-28. 978-1-78673-120-3.
- 8.Raspiengeas, Jean-Claude. Chahdortt Djavann or the difficult exile. La Croix. Bayard Presse. May 8, 2015.
- 9.Chahdortt Djavann: "Les plus grands romans sont des romans politiques". Radio France. 2021-04-06.
- 10.Chahdortt Djavann. Dictionnaire créatrices.
- 11.Lecteurs.com. Authors: Chahdortt Djavann.
- 12.Lawn, Lesley. SILENT VOICES - Lesley Lawn on translating Chahdortt Djavann's "La muette". And Other Stories. 2014-08-09.
- 13.Roger, Fabrice. Unrepresentative representatives: what it takes to be a "Muslim" commentator in France following the example of Mohamed Sifaoui and Chahdortt Djavann. Modern & Contemporary France. 29. 1. 41–56. 2021-01-02. 0963-9489.
- 14.Gemie, Sharif. French Muslims: New Voices in Contemporary France. University of Wales Press. 48–65. 2010. 978-0-7083-2209-3.
- 15.Sur les rayons des libraires - Les putes voilées n'iront jamais au paradis -Chahdortt Djavann - Roman - Grasset. Questions de citoyens. April 24, 2016.
- 16.Bryant, Elizabeth. Muslim writers in Europe tests limits, sparking praise and criticism. Newspapers.com. The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia). F1–F5. 1 January 2005.
- 17.Nanquette, Laetitia. French New Orientalist Narratives from the "Natives": Reading More Than Chahdortt Djavann in Paris. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 29. 2. 269–280. 2009-08-01. 1089-201X.
- 18.Djavann, Chahdortt. Autoportrait De L'Autre. Gallimard. 2009. 978-2-070-36022-2.
- 19.Toonder, Jeanette den. Writing in the Feminine: Identity, Language, and Intercultural Dialogue in Chahdortt Djavann's Comment peut-on être français? (2006). DiGeSt. Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies. 5. 2. 7–22. 2018. 2593-0273.
- 20.Chatzidimitriou, Ioanna. Speaking Silence: Translation in Chahdortt Djavann's "La Muette". MLN. 127. 5. 1206–1225. 2012. 0026-7910.
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