A MOTHER-OF-TWO writing the story of one woman’s fight against Islamic extremism is calling on people to buy it so she can get it published.

Woodford Green journalist Karen Attwood met Diana Nammi in 2014 when she interviewed her about winning the Barclay’s Woman of the Year award.

The 43-year-old, of Danbury Way, only spent an hour with the former Kurdish freedom fighter but “instantly knew” she wanted to tell her story.

Diana grew up in Iranian Kurdistan in the 1960s and 70s where women were married off against their will and faced huge prejudices.

She became a Peshmerga freedom fighter at the age of just 17 and spent 12 years on the front line defending her community from the forces of Iran’s Islamic revolution.

After moving to the UK in 1996 Diana carried on the fight for women’s rights in the Middle East by setting up a charity called the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO).

Following their first meeting Karen wrote more articles on Diana’s life, but decided she wanted to write her story in book form around a year and a half ago.

Karen said: “She’s the most inspirational person I’ve ever met.

“This is a really important story because the ones we get from the Middle East are usually told by men, but Diana’s is a tale of women’s strength.”

Girl with a Gun: A Teenage Freedom Fighter in Iran is written from Diana’s perspective, which has seen the pair meeting up every few weeks for Karen to record the next instalment.

She added: “Every time I see her she tells me something else that surprises me.

“With terrorism on the streets of London at the moment her story is more relevant than ever, because she has been fighting Islamist extremism for years.

“It shows that individuals can stand up to these people.”
But she added: “It’s not just a story about her on the front line fighting.

“It’s one about family, and it’s filled with joy and a passionate love story too.”

After bagging a deal with publishers Unbound six months ago, Karen started crowdfunding to help with costs.

By pledging to by the book in advance, people can help make sure her balancing act of being an author, journalist, mother, and businesswoman all the same time pays off, and A Girl with a Gun hits the shelves soon.

To pre-order your copy, see the website, and use discount code Wanstead17 to get 15 per cent off.