Dilsa Demirbag Sten

Dilsa Demirbag Sten (2009)

Dilsa 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 an own television show on Swedish TV8. She is a secular humanist and a board member of the Swedish Humanist Association. She is linked to Kurdish recognition of the Armenian genocide.

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 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 is a trained informant and holds a Bachelor of Arts-degree in political science and history from Stockholm University.

Her autobiography Stamtavlor ("Pedigrees"), which deals with her family's background from 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 boardmember of Humanisterna (Swedish Humanist Association)^[6][7]
• member of auditing committee of Swedish Institute^[8]
• boardmember of Riksteatern^[9]
• member of Globaliseringsrådet (Globalisation Council)^[10]

Notes

1. ^ Dilsa Demirbag-Sten, Norstedts Förlag, accessed 2010-07-26 (Swedish)
2. ^ http://www.islamicpluralism.org/388/cip-meets-with-state-department-sponsored-swedish "Ms. Demirbag-Sten is of Kurdish ethnic background"
3. ^ Libris (Swedish)
4. ^ Norsteds (Swedish)
5. ^ Bonniers (Swedish)
6. ^ Humanisternas nya styrelse, March 16, 2007 (Swedish)
7. ^ Humanisternas årsmöte 2008 (Swedish)
8. ^ Svenska institutets insynsråd (Swedish)
9. ^ Möt Riksteaterns styrelse (Swedish)
10. ^ Globaliseringsrådet, The Swedish Government (Swedish)

Persondata
Name	Demirbag Sten, Dilsa
Alternative names	Demirbag, Dilsa (birth name)
Short description	Swedish author and journalist
Date of birth	10 October 1969
Place of birth	Kirvan, Turkey
Date of death
Place of death