Iran: No Cake for Iranian Women on their Day

aliyeh-cart Although the Iranian government does not recognize the International Women's Day and has banned women activists from organizing gatherings and demonstrations to commemorate the day for the previous 30 years, Iranian bloggers and women activists remembered the 8th of March, honouring women in Iran and the rest of the world.

Several blogs and sites such as we-change and feminist school paid tribute to Aliyeh Eghdam Doust, a jailed woman activist.

Aliyeh Eghdam Doust is among those who were arrested on June 12, 2006, during a peaceful assembly in Tehran and handed a three year prison sentence. Women movement activists are working hard to ensure her release.

Rahavard Association, an Iranian cultural centre in Germany, has published the postcard above for Aliyeh which reads: Happy Women's Day to you and all the Iranian imprisoned women.

Siprisk, an Iranian blogger, says[fa] we should take into consideration several “facts” about women in his country. He says Iranian women are oppressed by the “state, their family, schools and universities, religion and tradition.”

We-change informs[fa] us that security forces did not allow Iranian women hold a meeting in Tehran on March 8 and even seized the cake seen below that women had prepared to celebrate the International Women's Day.

cake

Daeemohsen published [fa] a post which he claims was written by a group of bloggers. This post says that women in Iran have been marginalised by the Iranian state, which he urges to respect women's rights in accordance to the international conventions that Iran had signed.

Eshterak has published a poster for 8th of March that invites women to talk about their issues because silence=death!

4 comments

  • Devon

    The courageous women of Iran are fighting for emancipation of all Iranians. Other women now under arrest include two Baha’i women leaders now awaiting trial for a variety of baseless charges.

    See: http://bic.org/areas-of-work/persecution/prosecutor-general-iran-en.pdf

  • Abraham Sadegh

    The most honored and the highest responsibility of those who make a religion their profession is to give advice and nothing more.

    The only responsibility Prophet Muhammad was given and which is repeated many time in the Qur’an is to give “warning” for there shall be “no compulsion in religion.”

    Man and woman are equal in the sight of God and the freedom of choice is God Almighty’s greatest gift to humanity – a gift that sets it apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. No one in position of authority either temporal or spiritual has the right to take away another human being’s God given freedom to choose.

    No dictatorship has lasted because it is in violation of the spirit of freedom each human being is blessed with and the present government of Iran shall be no exception.

    God bless you, Aliyeh Eghdam Doust, and all those who struggle to break free of the chains that undermines their humanity.

  • […] Global Voices Online examines International Women’s Day for Middle Eastern women bloggers. More here. […]

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