Dilsa Demirbag Sten
Dilsa Demirbag Sten (Kurdish: Dilşa Demirbag Sten) (pronounced "Dilsha") (born Dilşa Demirbağ, 10 October 1969) is a Swedish author and journalist.[1] A self-described liberal atheist, she is a frequent commentator on topics such as integration, honor violence, religious oppression of women and Islamic fundamentalism. She is a contributor to the newspapers Expressen, Östgöta Correspondenten, Göteborgs-Posten, Dagens Nyheter, Fokus and Axess. She has also hosted her own television show on Swedish TV8. She is a secular humanist and a board member of the Swedish Humanist Association.
Dilsa Demirbag was born into a Kurdish nomadic family in Kirvan, a small village in eastern Turkey. She came to Sweden with her family in 1976 (at the age of six) and grew up in the cities of Karlstad and Uppsala. At a young age she was brought by her family into a forced marriage, but eventually managed to break the engagement and then moved to Stockholm. She has worked at Riksteatern, Amnesty International and as a special adviser to the former Swedish Minister for Integration Leif Blomberg. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history from Stockholm University.
Her autobiography Stamtavlor ("Pedigrees"), which deals with her family's Kurdish descent,[2] was published in 2005.
She has four siblings: Dilba, Dilnarin, Dilber and Assan. Her sister Dilba is a famous singer and her sister Dilnarin is a dancer who has performed on stage with artists such as Martin "E-type" Eriksson. She is married and has two children.
Works
- Svenska - en nödvändighet 1995 Stift. Non-Violence Sweden[3]
- Stamtavlor 2005 Norstedts[4]
- Fosterland 2010 Bonniers[5]
As co-writer
- Från Alfons till Dostojevskij. Co-writer. Rädda Barnen ISBN 91-89366-14-X
- Makten framför allt. Co-writer. W&W
- Violence in The Name of Honour. Co-writer. Istanbul Bilgi University Press
- Tystade röster. Co-writer. Tranan. ISBN 978-91-85133-13-0
Other merits
- Previous board member of Humanisterna (Swedish Humanist Association)[6][7]
- member of auditing committee of Swedish Institute[8]
- board member of Riksteatern[9]
- member of Globaliseringsrådet (Globalisation Council)[10]
Notes
- ↑ Dilsa Demirbag-Sten, Norstedts Förlag, accessed 2010-07-26 (Swedish)
- ↑ http://www.islamicpluralism.org/388/cip-meets-with-state-department-sponsored-swedish "Ms. Demirbag-Sten is of Kurdish ethnic background"
- ↑ Libris (Swedish)
- ↑ Norsteds (Swedish)
- ↑ Bonniers (Swedish)
- ↑ Humanisternas nya styrelse, March 16, 2007 (Swedish)
- ↑ Humanisternas årsmöte 2008 (Swedish)
- ↑ Svenska institutets insynsråd (Swedish)
- ↑ Möt Riksteaterns styrelse (Swedish)
- ↑ Globaliseringsrådet, The Swedish Government (Swedish)