Two years ago, Iran held a presidential election. When the government in Tehran reported the results and declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad victorious in his re-election over rival reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, most of the nation was incredulous - and with good reason. The election had been rigged..
After thirty years of living under a radically oppressive and tyrannical Islamic state, the Iranian people were pushed into collective action. Week after week, throngs of citizens - mostly under thirty years of age and social media savvy - took to the streets en masse. Particularly prominent in the crowds were large groups of young women clad in green. The color green quickly became more than a campaign theme, however. It came to signify a new generation ready to usher in an era of freedom, tolerance and equality. Upon being denied their universal right to a free and fair election, they returned to the streets to protest in even greater numbers. Iran 2009 was the true beginning of Revolution 2011 -a collective revolution from Cairo to Madrid that demands nothing less than political, social and economic justice for all.
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Iran: A Nation Held Hostage By Tyrants
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Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the religious elite of Iran has constructed one of the most intolerant and barbaric regimes in modern history. As in China, thousands of political prisoners languish in state prisons where they are subject to brutal treatment. In 1988, Tehran executed nearly 4,500 dissidents in custody in an act reminiscent of Josef Stalin's murderous rule of the Soviet Union from 1927-1953. Similar to Stalin's totalitarian state, fundamental human rights, such as freedom of speech, trial by due process and security of property, ultimately do not exist.
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Unlike the Soviet Union, however, today's Iran is steeped in patriarchy and misogyny. While Iranians discovered to be homosexual can be punished, women are regarded by the law as being worth exactly one-half of a man. For example, if a woman and a man are killed by a reckless driver, the woman's family would receive exactly half the financial compensation (diyya) as the man's family from the guilty party. Along with this law, a woman's testimony in court is also valued at half that of a man. (Regrettably, these laws are inscribed elsewhere in the Middle East)
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Under Iran's gender-oppressive regime, it is mandatory for women to cover their hair in public with a hijab (headscarf), and they can be punished for forgetting or refusing to comply. To work or travel, married women need to gain permission from their husbands.
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Neda Agha-Soltan: The Voice of Iran
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On 20 June 2009, twenty-six year old Neda Agha-Soltan drove her car near one of the ongoing protests against the corrupt government led by Ayatollah Khamenei (b. 1939) and illegitimate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (b. 1956). After getting out of her vehicle to survey the crowd - a crowd she was about to join, she was struck by a bullet, which had been fired by a member of the Iranian security forces (Basij), and killed. Her last words before dying were, "I'm burning, I'm burning."
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Iran, particularly its women, is burning to be free from a government of thugs and murderers. In the Persian language, Neda means 'Voice,' and her life and its needless end is rightly regarded as the voice of a rising generation. Khamenei, Ahmadinejad and their cohort of ruling criminals cannot silence the truth - and they will ultimately not succeed in denying justice much longer.
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Two decades after the 1989 Tiananmen protests in Beijing, tens of thousands of courageous people took to the streets to campaign for liberty in Iran. In both cases, their tyrannical governments used intimidation, mass incarceration and armed force on non-violent citizens. Both Beijing and Tehran have had no compunction in employing torture and have used the terrorist tactic of indiscriminate killing to hang onto the reins of power.
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Although the prospects for the liberation of China and Iran may seem bleak at the moment, the world has seen that only a moment is needed for a successful revolution to occur. As Eastern Europe and Russia threw off the yoke of Communist rule from 1989-91, the people of China and Iran will succeed in their march toward democracy.
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Neda was not only a daughter and a sister - she was our daughter and our sister - as one world united for peace, love and hope. While dead in body, she is not dead in spirit. As she is part of our motivation to end patriarchy, oppression and injustice, her voice will be heard through our voice - fighting for justice day and night around the globe.
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To that end, 'We Are (Still) All Neda'.
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(Picture: Image of Neda used by Iranian activists undaunted in pursuit of freedom. To view photos and a well-made video of the 2009 Green protests in Iran, please click onto kleostimes.tumblr.com to the right and view the posts under 19-20 June)
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J Roquen