No Matter Who Is President of Iran, They Would Stone Me

[babylonsister]

No Matter Who Is President of Iran, They Would Stone Me

by Lila Ghobady


Why didn't I vote in the latest elections for the president of the country of my birth, Iran? Because no matter who is the president of Iran, they would stone me!

As a young Iranian woman, I require big changes in order to convince myself that a change in president would mean an improvement of my basic rights as human being inside Iran.

Here are some simple facts that demonstrate that irrespective of who is president, I would be stoned to death in Iran:

1. As a woman whose husband refused to divorce her when she escaped the country and came to Canada as a refugee, I am considered this man's wife as long as I am alive. It does not matter if I live separated from him for years, have divorced him in my new country and am in a relationship with a new man. Under Iranian laws and the Iranian constitution, which are based on strict Islamic laws, I am considered his wife and am at risk of being stoned for "adultery" if I ever go back to Iran. In fact as a woman, I have no right to divorce my husband under the country's law while he has the privilege of marrying three more times without divorcing me. This is the case no matter who is the president of Iran; Ahamdinejad or Mousavi.

2. As a journalist and filmmaker, I am called upon by the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect the red lines. These "red lines" include belief and respect for the Supreme Leader and the savagely unjust rules of Islamic law in my country. I am expected not to write or demand equal rights, as this is not permitted under the law. I am not allowed to make the underground films I have made about the plight of sex trade workers and other social diseases rampant within Iran, as I did secretly 12 years ago. In fact I am not allowed to make any film without the permission and without censorship by Iran's Minister of Culture. Imagine - Iran has a Minister of Culture, who decides what is culturally acceptable, or not! If I did openly do all these things in Iran, I would disappear, I would be tortured, I would be raped, I would be killed as so many women journalist, filmmakers and activists in Iran have been. Among these are included Zahara Kazemi, the Iranian-Canadian photo journalist, who was brutally tortured and murdered for attempting to photograph and publicize brutalities committed by the Iranian regime.

3. I would be considered an infidel if I was born into a Muslim family and later converted to another religion or simply decided to consider myself a non-believer who does not follow strict Islamic morality. My branding as an infidel would result in my public murder, probably by stoning. No matter who is the president of Iran.

4. I would be lashed in public, raped in jail and stoned to death for selling my body in order to bring food to my family, as so many unfortunate Iranian women have been forced to do, as a single mother with no social assistance in a rich but deeply corrupted country like Iran. Even the simple crime of being in love, engaged in a relationship outside of marriage, or worse yet, giving birth to a human being out of Islamic wedlock. The product of such a union would be considered a bastard and would be taken away from me, and I would receive 100 lashes immediately after giving birth to my baby, No matter who is the president of Iran.

5. No matter who is the president of Iran, I would be denied a university education, a government job and a say in politics and it would be as if I basically did not exist if I was a Baha'i. I would be considered half a Shia Muslim, in all levels of society if I was Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian or even a Sunni Muslim, no matter who is the president of Iran.

6. No matter who is the president of Iran, I would disappear and be found dead (if I was lucky) if I were to keep writing and demanding my basic rights as a woman and intellectual who has no say in politics. (There was not even one female minister in the so-called "reformist cabinet" of Mohamad Khatami) If I argue and challenge the authorities that despite the fact that Iran is one of the richest countries in the planet when it comes to resources, still 70% of my people live in poverty because of corruption among the leaders. Huge numbers of children go to sleep on empty stomachs. Little girls are forced to sell their bodies in the streets of Tehran, Dubai and even China, just to survive. I would be jailed or disappeared no matter who is president of Iran.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/19-11

[Birthmark]

1. Dammit!

I was hoping this was a 70s nostalgia thread. Back then, we could take a stoning! But they seldomly used real stones.

And, yeah, religious fundamentalism is a lousy basis for government. As a long time atheist, I understand completely.

[Warpy]

2. "The Circle" is a great film about the way women who don't "fit"

are treated in Islamic Iran. It's a masterful film, beautifully done, very difficult to watch. It's a film that will stay with you, too.

In Farsi, with English subtitles: http://www.worldlanguage.com/Products/The-Circle-Farsi-DVD-Persian-Super-Bargains-105715.htm

[timeforpeace]

3. Is this just an Iran thing, or a Muslim thing?

[knowbody0]

4. jeebus, I hope reincarnation is just a fantasy.

we never realize how fortunate we are until we really understand the wretched existances of others. Women all over the planet have so little rights. they are our sisters, what can we do?

[timeforpeace]

5. What can we do? We criticize Christianity. So, criticize Islam as well.

Shed some light on this stuff.

[twitomy]

6. you mean you didnt know about the things she is saying?

Wow...you really need to learn about how Islam is predominately practiced. What she
is stating is generally true about all countries that follow Islamic law..VERY oppresive towards women..

[shireen]

7. religion is not the problem

The real problem is the culture that interprets the religion.

Malaysia is fairly progressive for a Muslim country. Ditto for Turkey.
Far from perfect, but Muslim women in those countries have almost as much rights as men.

[JI7]

8. but isn't that why state should not be under religious law

[shireen]

9. it's all a big mess

state and culture are tightly intertwined.
culture and religion are tightly intertwined.

it takes a lot to separate state from religion, culture from religion. Our founding fathers tried to do it. But it doesn't seem to be working ... look at what the religious right have done to our country. :(