 Her father, Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad-Kāzem Assār (), was a distinguished Shia theologian and Professor of Philosophy at University of Tehran.At age 17 Shusha was sent to Paris, where she studied Oriental languages and philosophy, and also trained as an opera singer.In Paris she encountered artists, writers and poets such as Louis Aragon, José Bergamín, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.