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Women lead the protests in the aftermath of the
controversial
presidential
election earlier
this summer in
Iran. In a
country where 62
percent of all
university
attendees are
women and an
overwhelming
majority of the
population is
young, young
women have
poured into the
streets to
protest the
fraudulent
election.
The image of
Neda, a 27-year
old student who
was brutally
murdered on June
20 in Tehran
while protesting
the results of
the national
election, has
brought the role
of women in this
post-election
crisis to light.
Indeed, at the
forefront of
these
non-violent
demonstrations,
which are being
violently
suppressed by
the
government-backed
militias known
as the Basij,
are brave
Iranian women.
The Supreme
Leader and all
of the
institutions
directly
operating under
his supervision
-- namely the
Judiciary, the
Guardian Council
overseeing the
parliament,
military forces
and state TV --
have forcefully
suppressed
women's rights
during the past
30 years. Any
attempt to
organize or work
within the
governmental
institutions for
improving
women's
conditions has
been aborted by
the Islamic
Republic of
Iran.
Although the
political
apparatus in
Iran has
prevented the
women's movement
from becoming
institutionalized,
it has not been
able to
completely
eradicate
women's right
activism. The
proof is the
existence of the
One Million
Signature
Campaign (http://www.we-change.org/english),
a vibrant,
nationwide
grassroots
movement that is
active in 16
provinces in
Iran, is
strongly
supported by the
Iranian diaspora,
and is demanding
changes in the
discriminatory
laws against
Iranian women.
…at the
forefront of
these
non-violent
demonstrations,
which are being
violently
suppressed by
the
government-backed
militias known
as the Basij,
are brave
Iranian women.
In the wake of
the recent
unrest in Iran,
mothers of all
those who have
been unlawfully
killed have
formed "The
Mourning Mothers
of Iran" (http://www.mournfulmothers.blogfa.com/).
These mothers
have decided to
break the
silence.
Despite
pressures from
the state not to
speak up, they
gather every
Saturday
evening between
7:00 and 8:00
p.m. (the time
Neda was
martyred) in
major parks in
Tehran dressed
in black to
commemorate the
young people who
were killed in
the streets,
those in the
prisons and
those who have
disappeared.
As these
protests
continue, one
thing becomes
clear – the
Iranian
political system
is facing a
deep-rooted
crisis of
legitimacy. The
very first
victims of this
crisis are women
who are beaten
up, imprisoned,
tortured and
abducted. There
are unconfirmed
reports of a
dire situation
in Iranian
prisons. The
state TV is
broadcasting
confessions of
the prisoners
who have, under
torture of
course,
"confessed" to
having relations
with the CIA,
the British
government and
Israel to
overthrow the
regime.
Consistent with
the past
behavior of the
Iranian
authorities, the
protesters are
being framed as
puppets of the
West and
especially the
United States.
The protesters,
who include
supporters of
the rival
presidential
candidates
Mousavi and
Karoubi, as well
as the populist
reform-minded
president
Khatami, are now
accused of
espionage for
foreign
governments and
threatening the
national
security.
Prosecution of
such alleged
crimes under
Islamic punitive
laws is very
harsh.
As always, the
U.S. response to
Iranian
government is of
grave importance
and has serious
implications.
If, as some in
the Obama
administration
argue, Iran's
atomic bomb
clock is
ticking, should
the U.S.
negotiate with
Iran just as the
Iranian
government is
violating the
fundamental
human rights of
its citizens?
If, as some in
the Obama
administration
argue, Iran's
atomic bomb
clock is
ticking, should
the U.S.
negotiate with
Iran just as the
Iranian
government is
violating the
fundamental
human rights of
its citizens?
Elham
Gheytanchi |
On the one hand,
any public
support of the
demonstrators by
the
American
government will
be used by the
Iranian
hardliners as
"evidence" for
their alleged
cooperation with
the West. On
the other hand,
the hardliners
seem determined
to crush the
protesters. In
the absence of
any viable civil
society
organization,
precisely
because the
regime has
feared them and
thereby crushed
them, human
rights
violations
including
torture,
abduction and
imprisonment
seem likely to
continue.
Could there be
negotiations
with
pre-conditions
based on the
release of
political
prisoners by the
Iranian state?
I asked women's
rights activists
in Iran this
very question.
Bahar, a young
women's rights
activist
expressed her
disappointment
that the U.S.
government might
even consider
negotiating
"with an
illegitimate
government, one
which has no
doubt come to
power through
fraud." Bita,
another
activist, said
the Iranian
government is
gradually
becoming a
military
dictatorship and
"they will not
abide by any
pre-condition
proposed in the
process of
negotiations."
Bahar, a young
women's rights
activist
expressed her
disappointment
that the U.S.
government might
even consider
negotiating
"with an
illegitimate
government, one
which has no
doubt come to
power through
fraud."
The Iranian
public is
outraged by
China and
Russia's full
support and
acknowledgement
of Ahmadinejad.
On July 17,
protesters
shouted slogans
against the
governments of
these two
countries for
recognizing the
illegitimate
government of
Ahmadinejad.
This is not the
case with the
newly elected
administration
of president
Obama.
U.S. foreign
policy towards
Iran reflects
not only
America's
national
interest but
also American
values and
international
norms regarding
human rights.
Internal dissent
in Iran is
rising, and this
time the sheer
number and
variety of
opposition
figures will
make it arduous
for the state to
accuse them of
being agents of
the West.
U.S. foreign
policy should
make its
priorities
clear. Any
state that
violates human
rights of its
citizens is not
a legitimate
partner in any
negotiations.
RF
Elham
Gheytanchi is an
Iranian-American
sociologist at
Santa Monica
College who
works with
women’s rights
activists in
Iran and has
written
extensively on
the culture and
politics of that
nation.
She can be
reached at
gheytanchi_elham@smc.edu
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