Exile, Books, and an Unfinished Dream

Sharifeh Jafari - 17 May 2026 

Sharifeh Jafari, Director, Pinar Publishing

Today in Berlin, with the coordination of Gardoon Publishing, founded by the late Abbas Maroufi, several publishers had gathered to organize a book fair parallel to the Tehran International Book Fair. Although I knew that visiting this exhibition and Hedayat Café would revive memories of the vibrant days when I attended the Tehran Book Fair as a publisher—and would reopen old wounds—I decided, after years of living in Berlin, to visit the bookstore and the exhibition held alongside it.

Sharifeh Jafari: The People's Struggle to Read and Write in Their Own Language

 Dilshad Aliyarli - Voice of America, February 24, 2018

Sharifeh Jafari, a southern Azerbaijani activist, writer, and publisher living in Germany, spoke about International Mother Language Day, the efforts for the provision of education in the Azerbaijani Turkish language in Iranian Azerbaijan, and the problems faced by Azerbaijani publishers.

Sharifeh Jafari: It Is Important to Involve Women in the Movement

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, May 26, 2017

Sharifeh Jafari

“The goal is not to condemn Azerbaijan or the national movement, but the reality is that women either do not participate in the movement, or when they do, they face certain setbacks, which create a negative example. This discourages other women from joining,” says Sharifeh Jafari.

In an interview with Voice of America, the national activist not only refutes some of the accusations made against the movement but also highlights issues that need to be addressed within it.

The Sad Story of Turkish Language Publishers in Iran

Sharifeh Jafari - October 4, 2014

Examples of Turkish books published in Iran, mostly on poetry and folkloric literature.

In the days when I was the managing director of Pinar Publishing, we became a ray of hope for the writers of the Turkish-speaking province of Zanjan. Day and night, we prepared books with the least resources we had. Several Turkish poetry books were published by our press. At the same time, there were insults in the Iranian newspaper targeting Turks. The Turkish-speaking people protested widely in Tehran and the Turkish-majority provinces, including Zanjan. After that day, life became dark for us, for the Turkish language, literature, and culture. Every day, they raided my office for various reasons, inspecting the place. We were forcibly relocated to Karaj, and there, as the number of Turkish-speaking clients increased, the Ministry of Intelligence and Security started visiting my workplace and home again. Gradually, they banned us from organizing book fairs in cities and provinces. At one of these fairs, the Ministry of Intelligence suddenly ordered the confiscation and ban of Turkish books, including my own poetry books.

Sharifeh Jafari: I Was Accused of Being a Communist and a Pan-Turkist

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, January 10, 2013

Sharifeh Jafari

Human rights groups report that in Iran’s Azerbaijan provinces, activities related to language, culture, and the arts are heavily restricted, and those involved in these fields constantly face government persecution, threats, and pressures. One of the victims of these pressures, Sharifeh Jafari, the director of Pinar Publishing House, which was shut down by the government in September 2011, shared her experiences in an interview with Voice of America.