[Reader-list] There is a Third Voice in Iran: Gita Hashemi on Rakshan Bani-Etemad's Film
shuddha at sarai.net
shuddha at sarai.net
Mon Jul 13 16:00:54 IST 2009
Dear All,
While on the subject of Iran, here is an interesting text by Gita Hashemi,
that appeared on the Nettime list today. I thought this would be of
interest to people on this list. Apologies for cross posting from Nettime.
best,
Shuddha
-----------------------------------------
There Is a Third Voice in Iran
Review of "We Are Half of Iran" by Rakhshan Bani-etemad, released on
YouTube, Spring 2009
By Gita Hashemi
[Feel free to distribute.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_BinbdFndI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrZ9wQrYfdo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHoqssYQNM4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvBcdtqHSNA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3NsiiUbMmI&feature=related
[This documentary is in Farsi and is not subtitled yet.]
In this documentary - made over the 2-3 months prior to the elections
and released online just a week before the election - feminist
Iranian filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-etemad
(http://iranianstudies.ca/privatelives/000432.html) interviews a
large number of women political personalities, researchers and
women's rights activists from diverse political/ideological
formations who work in a wide range of areas of research and activism
using different methodologies. The film also briefly looks at the
activist coalitions that were created this spring in order to take
advantage of the brief opening in the public sphere during the
presidential campaign for discussing women's agenda and their needs
and demands. A common question she asks the activists is what
demands they have of the presidential candidates and on what basis
they will decide who to vote for. The footage is then played back to
3 out of 4 candidates (Ahmadinejad did not respond to Bani-etemad's
invitation to participate), and the candidates respond to women's
demands.
Briefly, the majority of activists - from Islamic to secular
nationalist and/or leftist orientations - demand fundamental changes
to the discriminatory legal and political frameworks in Iran
including changing the constitution. Other demands include joining
the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (Islamic Republic of Iran is not a signatory yet),
opening social and political opportunities for women, guaranteeing
the right of women to organize politically, several social policy
demands including social spending, equal righs to education for
women, etc. The common denominator is EQUAL RIGHTS in all areas of
social life.
In their responses to these demands, the 3 candidates - Karoubi,
Mousavi and Rezayi - and their advisors and/or wives, while
acknowledging women's active contribution to socio-political life and
paying lip service to some of the issues raised by women, stop short
of formulating any concrete responses to concrete questions asked of
them. Most interesting is Mousavi's response. He insists that given
the "traditional" dominant culture in Iran, any solutions to women's
issues have to be in adherence with traditions. His conservatism
comes hard even to his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, who jumps in at one
point to say that nevertheless the executive branch has both
responsibilities and means of changing some of the laws and
conditions.
What this documentary helps to highlight is the broad-based highly
organized and diverse women's rights movement in Iran - by no means a
homogeneous movement - and the impact of women's activism in changing
the political discourse in Iran toward broader mobilization of the
people in the political process. Over the past few weeks, many
Western commentators (including, to my dismay, Robert Fisk) have
expressed 'surprise' at the presence of women on the streets. Such
commentaries show complete lack of familiarity with and understanding
of the grass roots political dynamics in the country. This
documentary shows a highly dynamic home-grown women's rights movement
that has, over at least a decade of overt activism and 3 decades of
resistance, created the socio-cultural conditions for women to
participate not just as so many bodies in street demonstrations, but
as important voices in the political discourse. It is no accident
that some of these activists were amongst the first to be arrested
immediately as the post-election uprising started. Many of their
offices have been under attack, activists and lawyers arrested,
families harassed and threatened (these attacks have been ongoing for
several years). Western journalists may be oblivious but the
guardians of the Islamic Republic are quite clear that it is this
persistent daily activism which has directly contributed to the
massive shift in the country's political culture including the
possibility of mass political action.
In spite of their broad participation in the 1979 Revolution, women
were the first group to come under attack after the establishment of
the Islamic Republic of Iran which - within a month after the
revolution - started regressive processes to limit severely women's
legal rights and social opportunities. Mandatory veiling was the
symbol of a very broad campaign against women in both public and
private spheres. Women were also the first group to stage resistance
in spring of 1979 in defense of their democratic rights through mass
demonstrations against mandatory veiling and the abolition of the
family protection act which guaranteed certain rights, including
right to divorce and custody of children, for women. Over the past
ten years, by articulating fundamental challenges to the constitution
of the Islamic Republic in demanding equal rights for women, and
through highly creative and diverse forms of social and political
engagement/activism, the women's rights activists have mounted one of
the most serious and radical campaigns for change in Iran.
While the world media focuses on street demonstrations and/or
behind-the-curtain negotiations between political factions and
presidential candidates and their cleric supporters/foes, once again
we are facing the erasure of women's voices from the political
discourse in Iran and its reflection in the world. Women's movement
in Iran is not a U.S. 'Feminist Majority' export, it didn't start in
June 2009, and it is not a momentary engagement. It is NOT ENOUGH to
rally around the face of a female accidental victim of state
violence, Neda Aghasoltan. What is ESSENTIAL now is to recognize and
support the organized and articulate women's voices for change. This
is the "third voice" in Iran. Become familiar with it. Amplify it.
Broadcast it.
Start here: http://www.forequality.info/english/
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