Betty Mahmoody
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Betty Mahmoody is an American author most famous for her book, Not Without My Daughter and her advocacy for the rights of women and children.
According to Betty Mahmoody, in 1984, she, her husband, Sayyed Bozorg "Moody" Mahmoody, and their daughter Mahtob traveled to Iran for what was supposed to be a two week visit. Ms. Mahmoody further claimed that her husband arbitrarily refused to allow her family to return to the United States and became domineering and abusive.
Faced with the fact that she would only be allowed to leave if she left her daughter with her husband, she stayed in Iran for 18 months. Eventually, she escaped her husband and Iran, crossing into Turkey with her daughter; reaching the U.S. embassy, from where they were returned to the United States.
Ms. Mahmoody's experience is dramatized in the 1991 film, Not Without My Daughter in which Sally Field played Betty Mahmoody. However some have criticized the film's portrayal of Iranian society.
A few years later, Alexis Kouros, a Finnish writer born in Iran, directed a documentary called Without My Daughter, reflecting her husband's point of view, in response to the 1991 movie.
