Not Without My Daughter (book)
| Author | Betty Mahmoody with William Hoffer |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Biography |
| Publisher | St. Martin’s Press |
|
Publication date
|
1987 |
| Pages | 420 pp. |
| ISBN |
Not Without My Daughter is a biographical book by Betty Mahmoody detailing the escape of Betty and her daughter, Mahtob, from Betty’s abusive husband in Iran.
In 1977, Betty married Dr. Sayed “Moody” Bozorg Mahmoody. In 1984, when their daughter was four years old, Betty reluctantly agreed to accompany her husband on a two-week vacation to Iran in order for his family to meet Mahtob. However, at the end of the two weeks, Moody decided that he and his wife and daughter should remain in Iran. Betty was trapped in Iran and could not return to the United States. The rest of Not Without My Daughter recounted Betty and Mahtob’s escape from Iran and return to the United States.
While the story was true, Betty changed certain aspects of the story in order to protect those who aided her and her daughter in their escape. She wrote the following:
It was August 3, 1984. Moody, Betty, and Mahtob had spent two days traveling from their home in Detroit to Moody’s native country of Iran. In preparation for their arrival, Betty, at Moody’s request, gave her American passport to him in order for it not to be confiscated by the customs official. When they had landed in Tehran, Moody’s family had gathered at the airport to meet them and showered them with gifts. The family gave Betty a montoe and a roosarie (traditional female clothes in Iran) and instructed her to wear them whenever she went outside their home. During the next two weeks, Betty and Mahtob longed for the vacation to be over. They had difficulty adjusting to the Iranian lifestyle. But they also faced familial challenges; Moody’s sister, Ameh Bozorg, (literally "great aunt"), who was their host, viewed Betty with contempt simply for being an American and holding to American ideals. Moody’s attitude toward Betty also changed. He forced her to abide by increasingly strict Iranian customs; he lied to her; he claimed that she was lying whenever she complained; he ignored her and their daughter for days at a time; he even blinded himself to the oppression of women in Iran.
The day before their scheduled return to the United States, one of Moody’s relatives went to the airport in order to make the preparations for their departure. He informed them that, since Betty had an American passport, she needed to turn in her passport to the airport officials three days before her departure. When she confronted Moody about not turning in her passport, he informed her that he had decided to stay and that Betty and Mahtob would remain in Iran for the rest of their lives. Betty tried to get help from Moody’s family, but they approved of Moody’s actions and refused to help. Moody forced Betty to call her parents to let them know that she would be staying in Iran for a while longer. About a week later, when Betty was alone, her parents called and gave her the address of the U.S. Interest Section of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. Betty waited for a chance to contact the Swiss Embassy. Her desire to leave Iran was magnified by Moody’s physical abuse. Even in public, any injury or violence toward Betty and Mahtob was allowed. The Iranian laws granted Moody absolute authority over his wife and daughter.
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