Kameel Ahmady

Kameel Ahmady
کامیل احمدی
Born	Naghadeh, Iran
Nationality	British, Iranian
Other names	کامیل احمدی
Education	HND & B.A: Printing and Publishing. M.A: Social Anthropology and Visual Ethnography
Alma mater	HND & B.A: London College of Communication, UK; M.A:University of Kent, UK
Occupation(s)	Academic, Scholar and Anthropologist
Years active	15 years
Known for	Research in the field of harmful traditional practices (HTP) such as early child marriage, or child marriage; temporary marriage/sigheh; White marriage, or cohabitation; female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); LGBTQ+ issues; child labour and child labour & child scavenging; Male circumcision; identity and ethnicity; and minorities.
Notable work	Conformity and Resistance in Mahabad, Another Look at East and Southeast Turkey, In the Name of Tradition, An Echo of Silence, A House on Water, House with Open Door, Forbidden Tale, Prevention and Control of Child Scavenging Phenomenon in Tehran, From Border to Border, Traces of Exploitation in Childhood, The blade of tradition in the name of religion
Awards	World Peace Foundation Literature and Humanities Award 2018, IKWRO Nominees Award 2017, GABB Municipal Mesopotamia Publishing Centre Award for Best Research 2009
Website	https://kameelahmady.com/

Kameel Ahmady is a British-Iranian scholar working in the field of social anthropology, with a particular focus on gender, children, ethnic minorities, and child labour.^[1] Kameel Ahmady, born in 1972 in Naghadeh, West Azerbaijan Province, is an Iranian-British researcher and social anthropologist known for his research and activities in the fields of social anthropology and harmful traditional practices. He is the coordinator and developer of more than 11 research study books and 20 scientific articles in Persian, English, Turkish, and Kurdish on subjects such as child marriage, temporary marriage, White marriage, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), Male circumcision, child labour and children's scavenging, LGBTQ+ issues and identity and ethnicity.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Ahmady holds a HND and bachelor's degree in printing and publishing from the London University of Communication and a master's degree in social anthropology and visual ethnography from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom.^[7] He has also completed specialised training and courses on politics in the Middle East, research methods, and empowerment at other universities in England. In 2017, IKWRO presented its annual award to Ahmady for his collection of research in the fields of gender and children at the London university of Law. Ahmady also won the World Peace Foundation's Literature and Humanities Award in 2018 at the Global P.E.A.C.E. ceremony hosted by George Washington University for his collection of works on social issues.^{[8][9][10][11]}

During his career as a researcher, Kameel has conducted several comprehensive and group-based research projects in the field in various parts of south-west Asia, including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]}

In mid-August 2019, media inside and outside Iran reported that Kameel Ahmady had been arrested by the security forces of the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of the Islamic Republic of Iran.^[20][21][10] A year later, in December 2020, he was sentenced to nine years and three months in prison and fined 600,000 euros on charges of collaborating with a hostile government, trying to divide Iran through scientific research, seeking "cultural changes" through research, collaborating with and implementing anti-government projects, conducting "subversive" research work related to social issues and minorities, promoting and supporting homosexuality in the form of scientific research, and several other charges.^{[22][23][24][25][21]} while released on bail of 500 million tomans in December 2020, Ahmady escaped through the western borders of Iranian Kurdistan and went to Britain.^{[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]}