Iran Women Say No to Polygamy
Women achieve temporary victory over Iran Family Protection Bill
ELAHE AMANI – Women News Network – WNN – Tues 23 Sept, 2008
In response to efforts of coalition, Iranian parliament (Majlis) has removed the 2 most contested articles of this bill, Articles 25 and 23, postponing the bill’s floor discussion indefinitely. In addition, parliament send the bill back to the Parliamentary Judicial Committee for revisions. This temporary victory has energized women activists of Iran.
Shirin Ebadi has called the Family Protection Bill a sign of the Iranian government regression to some centuries ago. In an interview of Change4Equality website editor, Ebadi sad she and her colleagues would stage a sitin at the Majlis Building should the bill be discussed on they floor.
On August 31 approximately 100 women activists and leaders from various feminist groups such as the One Million Signatures Campaign, Kanoon Zanan Irani, Meydaan Zanan, Shirin Ebadi, Simin Behbahani, Iran’s “brave and popular” Iranian woman poet, met with members of parliament and expressed their opposition to the bill.
Simin Behbahani, in interview with Iranian publication, The Feminist School, summed up the meeting, “Today, we had a duty, and our duty was to voice the concerns of the women in our country to the representatives. Our visit to parliament and our objection was because we don’t want future generations to wonder why we did not protest such a bill. Visiting the parliament was very important and necessary.”
Iran womens
When in Europe talk about women's rights in Iran just laughs. However, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi Iranian and spoke about the plight of Iranian women in the native country was immediately forgotten. The names of the other champions of the rights and freedoms of the weaker sex in Iran, too, is not pronounced. And why? Here, women living according to laws invented by men, and not always having the right even to divorce, still consider themselves the most free. EN correspondent tried to understand this paradox on the spot.
Rare serious European politicians in his time not observed in the field fighting for the rights and freedoms of women. As has become extremely difficult to invent any more rights are not enough European weaker sex, crossed to the right of women of the East. Interest is very rewarding, because almost inexhaustible: the benefit of the life of the Eastern women, little is known. While many are needed: one from the word "polygamy" and "veil" from feminist-minded European women's eyes immediately lit up righteous anger.
"And you think that in France, where to wear the veil in schools and institutions is prohibited by law, women are freer than ours, where it is forbidden to shoot?" - A sly smile, asked me a graduate of Tehran University Zahra Mohammadi.
Understanding the Iranian tradition begins on board of airplane flight. Twenty minutes before boarding a flight attendant with obliging Iran insistent politeness help all visitors of their country to engage in head scarves. From this point it's time to forget about what your nationality and religion, and remember the old English saying "arriving in Rome, behave like a Roman." Because in Iran, separate rules for foreigners there, and the division of all and everything happens according to gender. Even the passport control man and woman are held in different queues.
Tying scarves passenger, a flight attendant forgets to say that Iran's rules should be covered not only the head, neck and elbows, but also "back seat". As a result, a long time I did not realize the significance of angry gestures Iranian pogranichnitsy, trying to force me to fasten a cloak, under which, incidentally, was entirely civilian, according to our notions, but too short on Iranian rules shirt.
Terms of clothing for women in Iran are somewhat similar to dress-code in the serious business: fire - do not get fired, but the comments from the "senior in rank will be many. So go the conservative Iranian women, hidden in a hijab - a device resembling a hood, covering both the head and neck - and bundle up and down the veil. If you go out into the street with his head uncovered, you risk running into the moral police. Then would have been at least go to their accompaniment to the nearest store for a handkerchief or pay a fine and wait for the arrival of relatives or husband in police custody.
Iranian feminists sentenced to prison and lashes
September 18, 2008
An appellate court in Iran upheld the sentence of imprisonment and lashes, handed down two Iranian feminists for taking part in the struggle for women's equal rights in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody.
Incredible! According to the verdict, the 31-year Masumeh Zia sentenced to year in prison and 35 lashes, a 55-year Marzy Langerudi - to 6 months in prison and 10 lashes.
Recall that the Iranian law allows severe discrimination against women. For example, in the testimony of two women are equal to the testimony of one man, divorce, children remain with his father, in succession to have the double advantage of men: the death of his father's son gets two-thirds of the inheritance, but only one daughter, men are allowed to marry a second time, not asking for this permission first, which is contrary to the laws of the Koran.
Attitudes towards the animals
Attitudes towards the dog in Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan have changed in VII-VIII centuries, when these lands were conquered by the Arabs and converted to Islam. If the Zoroastrians the dog was a sacred animal, then the Muslims, it was considered a "dirty animal" - nadzhasa. A Muslim can keep a dog in the yard, but in any case not to let in the house. Whereas before it touches the dog must perform ablution. However, for the hounds of old, lived in tents, Arabian Bedouin, was an exception - and so far the Islamic lawyers of these four legged aristocrats officially "not considered" dogs. As for the local shepherds' dogs - the ancestors of Asians - the conditions of their detention appeared after the adoption of Islam somewhat tightened. However, Zoroastrian past is not forgotten. For example, in one of the old Turkmen legend tells about the fact that after the expulsion of Adam from Paradise to earth it fell upon the beasts, which was headed by a huge dog. The first man called out to God, and God told him to pat the dog (an unclean animal!). Then she began to protect Adam from other animals.
In the Middle Ages Asians continued to faithfully serve the simple shepherds and hunters. But as so often happens, is famous in the pages of these chronicles are not workers, and those of their compatriots, who in the service of the powers that be were forced to engage in a rather unpleasant things. For example, the ruler of Khorezm Mohammed, the strongest of the Muslim rulers of the XIII century, had a lot of ferocious dogs, which kept his palaces. Were he and the dog-torturers. Sentenced to death people dumped into a special tower. Below them butchered hairy man-eating dogs. Terrible Khoresmshah definitely overdone with frightening subjects, and they do not stand up for their ruler, where the borders of Khorezm came hordes of Genghis Khan.