26 years on, Kurdish writer defies doctors who gave her 20 days to live

The Kurdistan Post

Doctors told Atiyeh Sheikh Ahmedi she had 20 days to live when she fell from a roof and suffered a spinal cord injury in 1999. But she survived and has penned dozens of books. The Kurdish woman’s success story has astonished many. 

"Doctors gave me 20 days to live. After I recovered, I decided that if my hands could move, I would write books. Since then, I have written 60 books. One of them is my autobiography,” she told Rudaw. 

Ahmedi writes in Kurdish and Farsi. Twenty-five of her books have been published. Every day, she goes out in her wheelchair and searches for a suitable spot in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj in western Iran (Rojhelat) to sell them. 

"I was passing by here by chance. I saw this lady - an active writer and dear lady. In this condition, being in a wheelchair, truly one must be proud of her. In Kurdistan, she has written such good books and also does handicrafts,” said one of her customers.

Abas Zainabi, a resident of Sanandaj, said although Ahmedi is physically disabled, she remains “strong and determined.”

Ahmedi has also made more than 5,000 handicrafts. She sells them alongside her books.

She has requested that the city of Sanandaj provide her with a place where she can sell her books and handicrafts. With the money she earns, she hopes to publish her other books.