Iranian Canadian beauty queen dating Canadian Defense Minister
Toronto Star confirms that Iranian-born human rights activist and former Miss World Canada, Nazanin Afshin-Jam is indeed in a serious relationship with Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay (former Foreign Affairs Minister). The two met six years ago when she was in Ottawa to speak about human rights abuses. The two were seen together (in picture) as a couple at the 2010 True Patriot Love Tribute Dinner, Nov. 10, 2010 in Toronto.
Nazanin Afshin-Jam, born 1979 in Tehran, Iran, is an Iranian-Canadian human rights activist, singer, songwriter, model, actress, pilot, former Miss World Canada (2003) and Miss World 1st runner up. Afshin-Jam immigrated with her family to North Vancouver, B.C., in 1981 after having fled Iran for Spain when she was just a baby. Her father had been general manger of the Sheraton Hotel in Tehran where music, alcohol and parties were part of the routine before the 1979 Islamic revolution. After the revolution, he was thrown in jail, lashed and allegedly even faced death before a friend managed to secure his release.
Nazanin Afshin-Jam is the founder of Stop Child Executions and has spoken before various international tribunes against violations of human rights in Iran. She spoke before the UN Human Rights Council, on September 16, 2009, and strongly condemned widespread human rights violations in Iran, torture, rape, mass arrests of reformists, execution sentences for juveniles (Video Embedded). The Iranian mission called these "unsubstantiated" but two months later the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee approved a draft resolution expressing "deep concern at serious human rights violations in Iran," including torture, persecution of ethnic minorities and violence against women.
Post script: Another influential person of Iranian origin who has partnered with a government official is former CNN Senior correspondent and now host of ABC's "This Week" show, Christiane Amanpour. She married James Rubin, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs under President Clinton.
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