What you saw is nontheless an Iranian community and as such it reflects the issues and the values of Iranians
yes, within the freedom of press and speech America allows
some of the issues they are now free to express:
Matter of choice - Wearing the hijab is not the deciding factor in whether someone is good or not
Symbol of struggle - On both a de facto and de jure level Iranian woman face mountains in their pursuit for gender equality.
If he were alive - It was 13 of Tir (July 4) 1992. They claimed he died 6th of Azar (November 27) that year but we believe it was earlier, in late August, when they killed him. When I think that he spent the last days and months of his life in captivity and under torture and that they changed his words and his writings, it makes me sick to my stomach. I tremble at the thought of it. But I remember his famous verse, beh yek baareh jaan dar setam soukhtan maraa behtar az baa setam saakhtan. (Better to be burned by tyranny, than to live with tyranny.)
The outsider - President Khatami finally reacted to Shirin Ebadi's Nobel Peace Prize, five days after the fact, and on the day of her triumphant return to Iran. He congratulated her but his praise was mixed with comments that showed discomfort, if not fear -- fear of what it could all mean to the future of the Islamic Republic.
"This award has been given to her totally on the basis of political considerations," Khatami was quoted as saying to reporters. He called the Peace Prize "not very important" compared with other Nobel awards, such as science and literature.
Prize for courage - As Iranians in the US, when we decide to go in front of any Federal building such as the one in Los Angeles to make a defiant statement against the regime in Iran or any adverse US policies against Iranians, many of us wear dark sunglasses and some wear scarves so that we won't be recognized by secret agents of either governments!
Here in the United States, the freest country in the world, many of us are still dubious about our level of freedom and liberty. We are somewhat paranoid that our phone lines may be tapped and trashcans searched and bank accounts audited. But step back for a few minutes to better appreciate of how much courage and valor it takes for someone like Ebadi to be who she is in today's Iran.
Dokhtari beh naameh Gohar - Girls raped by fathers not uncommon in rural areas of Iran
very interesting reading.. |
