The Iranian women broke the silence, the men supported them, now it's your turn!
The whole world is horrifiedly watching the war between Israel and Hamas, which has cost the lives of thousands of civilian citizens. Iran is often mentioned as the instigator and sponsor of the attack against peaceful Israelis. However, Iran also faces a significant problem with human rights compliance. Women in this Islamic state practically have no rights and are subjected to real terror.
That's why we chose to tell you a story from Iran, in which an Iranian activist and journalist delves deeper and contextually analyses this year's Nobel Peace Prize awarded to her compatriot and human rights defender, Narges Mohammadi, who is currently in prison.
Faegheh Eshkevari is fighting for the rights of women and the freedom of her compatriots in her homeland. Over a decade ago, she and her husband fled following serious political changes there. They find refuge in Bulgaria, subsequently making it their new home. They became petitioners for the BHC, whose rights were advocated for by the lawyers of the "Legal Protection of Refugees and Migrants" program at the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee for seven years.
In recent days, Iranians are celebrating sincere congratulations due to this year's Nobel Peace Prize for Narges Mohammadi. This marks the second occasion, with Shirin Ebadi winning the Nobel 20 years ago (in 2003). It's positive news but also indicates a revolutionary development. Currently, Iran has two Nobel laureates, one in exile and the other in prison, summarizing the situation for every Iranian to a large extent.
The Nobel Peace Prize, above all, serves as a reminder that the struggle the Iranian people are undertaking for their own lives, for a normal life without the horrors of religious dictatorship, is not solely related to women's rights. When Berit Reiss-Andersen expressed "Women, life, freedom!" she meant more than just "women's rights." Narges Mohammadi, sentenced to 35 years in prison, is not solely an activist for women's rights but a reformist who asserted that "the Islamic Republic is not subject to reforms and must go."
The slogan "Women, life, freedom!" calls for a comprehensive structural change with the active and central role of women. This sentiment is appreciated by men who are conscious of the discrimination in the Islamic Republic. The slogan, now reinforced by the Nobel Prize, will have a global impact.
This development comes after a prolonged silence from the international community regarding Iranian civil resistance against the brutal regime, particularly following the incidents involving Mahsa Amini's direct shootings of children and a series of chemical attacks against schools. Apparently, the international community has finally chosen to heed the civil calls for change, making the usual compromises with the regime somewhat more challenging.
We are pleased that this award has brought the debate on the key role of women to the forefront. These women do not see themselves as victims or pink feminists. They are well aware of their various roles as agents of structural change:
- From the daily actions of resistance by schoolgirls to Narges Mohammadi's steadfast refusal to retract her words.
- To those who risked their lives to display a poster on the bridge reading "The next Armita is you and me!" on the day of the Nobel Peace Prize announcement, after the recent beating of teenager Armita Geravand by the moral police for not wearing a hijab in the metro.
- To Fatemeh Sepehri, a woman with a hijab standing behind the call for the Supreme Leader's resignation. She was returned to prison a day after an open-heart surgery to serve 18 years of imprisonment for her call for a change in the regime, and her two young sons were also imprisoned after her statement.
- And the "Iranian Mothers of Protest," displaying exceptional courage in insisting on and openly publishing their demand for a fair trial for their children, who are being tried for peacefully protesting in a highly corrupt Islamic judicial system.
The Nobel Peace Prize is an opportunity to show the world that something is about to change in a deliberately neglected geographical region with a struggling population of 85 million and around 10 million in the diaspora, discouraged by the compromises of the international community, political deals, and media monopolies. One of its secondary results would be the freedom of choice in clothing.
I wish the fight for freedom wasn't at such a high cost for those who stand with pure hearts, bare-handed against the brutal Islamists who don't hesitate to shoot directly at children and babies and escape the international community's attention - with their heinous murders - accompanied by 45-year sentences.
This will happen when international support doesn't stand behind an illegitimate regime that uses oil money to 'wash away' its killings.
The fight against crime begins with words
that break the silence, revealing the real situation.
So, let's go back to where I started: there is a nation subjected to domestic violence of a brutal kind; women have broken the silence, and men have supported them in every possible way. Now it's your turn, your moral duty.
You can watch the video with the story of Faega and her husband 'Welcome to Bulgaria, My Home' on our YouTube channel here.