Thursday, September 30, 2010

The family protection law?!?! (+ an addendum)

These days, Iranian women and Iranian women activists are fiercely battling a retrograde legislation that Ahmadinejad tabled in 2007 and is now put to vote.

"The Legislation of Family Support".

Ahmadinejad's objective, as he states is the following:

با عنايت به نقش و جايگاه ويژه نهاد خانواده در نظام حقوقي و تربيتي اسلام و با توجه به غيرشرعي اعلام شدن بخشهايي از قوانين مربوط به حقوق خانواده و وجود خلاءهاي قانوني در اين زمينه و نظر به متشتت بودن مقررات اين حوزه و معلوم نبودن ناسخ و منسوخ آنها که موجب آثار زيانبار و مشکلات عديده اي از جمله سردرگمي محاکم دادگستري در رسيدگي به دعاوي خانوادگي شده است و با لحاظ برخي کاستي ها و نواقص در قوانين موجود حاکم بر نهاد خانواده و عدم تطبيق آنها با واقعيت روز و به منظور تحقق بخشيدن به مفاد اصل (21) قانون اساسي جمهوري اسلامي ايران و در راستاي تحقق سياست قضا زدايي و براي کاهش يا مرتفع نمودن مشکلات موجود در قواعد حقوق خانواده و رفع ابهام ، تعارض و خلاً از قوانين و مقررات کنوني خانواده و در اجراء بند (2) اصل (158) قانون اساسي؛ لايحه زير جهت طي تشريفات قانوني تقديم مي شود

Which basically means: he wishes to un-judiciarize the family law and make it more common-sensical, which he interprets as less confusing. Yes, Mahmoud is a reductionist; he wants everything facile enough to be comprehensible by a fruit-fly!

The most adamantly and loudly opposed article of the legislation is the following:

a) The right to second (third and forth marriage) is no longer dependent on consent from the first wife; rather it is determined by the court, after the man proves he is financially capable of providing for all wives fairly.

b) The matrimony allowance (Mahriyeh, a prenuptial agreement that guarantees the woman would receive certain sum of money, gold, land or other during the course of marriage. However, this sum is only claimed at the time of divorce. Usually, the amount of Mahriyeh is related to the socioeconomic status of the woman--of course there are rampant women like myself who ask for symbolic things of no monetary value, should the marriage fall apart.) is taxable, and the taxation ratio is ad-hoc; and depends on current economic situation of the country!!

c) Presence of a female counsel in the family court proceedings is no longer obligatory.

There are a few other amusing clauses:
  • Medical certificates are required to rule out any of the couple have a dangerous disease or drug addition that could jeopardize the future children (Sounds like something out of a Hitler book!)
  • If a man marries or divorces without registering it, he will be fined between $2000-$10,000.
  • If a doctor issues a false certificate about exclusion of addiction or dangerous illness, his license will be suspended for 5 years.
  • A non-Iranian who marries an Iranian woman without obtaining necessary permissions will be jailed between 91 days to one year! Even the woman and her 'guardian" who have consented to this marriage will be punished!
  • >If an Iranian woman divorces in a court outside Iran, that divorce is not recognized and she will be considered married upon arrival to Iran (and thus dependent on permissions of the husband for every little thing.)
  • A man marrying an underaged woman will be jailed between 2-5 years. If the underaged woman dies as a result of marriage (read rape), the man will have to pay "diyeh" (price of life, monetary) and will be jailed between 5-10 years!
...

I am now very angry!
Where is that 1-million signature sheet? I refused to sign when I was asked a few years back, but I like to sign it now!


Addendum
I heard that an acquaintance, whose husband cheated on her, has decided to not follow up with her divorce request; because the first person who made an indecent proposal was the judge of the case who proposed to accelerate her divorce if she agrees to a temporary marriage to him. It seems the sexual harassment and insinuations begin immediately when a woman entertains the prospect of being a divorcee: from the court soldier to the honorable judge ... She has decided to "have the shadow and the name of a man whom she hates, rather than expose herself to indecent proposals." I am sure she will soon agree to her cheating husband marrying his mistress.

A few days ago, the prominent and outspoken woman/human rights activist, Shadi Sadr, who is now forced to exile, stirred a controversy by suggesting that the source of violence and discrimination against Iranian women is not just the government, but a patriarchic culture that permits and promotes men making suggestive sexual jokes with random females (something like the Italian wink!)

I was one of the adamant opponents of her article: (A prick to men) یک سوزن به آقایان ; in fact I suggested (in a private conversation) that Shadi Sadr has made an ass of herself to say such outlandish things, condemning all Iranian men, many of whom are decent and dignified men. But, I was apparently wrong.

First, I realized that she had in fact stirred a lot of guilt and self-questioning in many men who are not as decent and as dignified as my father, brother and husband have been. I realized that a few men whom I respected, who are women activists themselves, acknowledged (with guilt) that they too have made such passes--a manifestation of their masculinity. (I don't necessarily think flirtation is bad, and this is why I disagreed with blanket statements of Sadr. In general, I disagree with a lot of feminism according to which women are to be saved from sexual objectification, with total disregard for how women have used and continue to use their sexuality as a power leverage, especially in Iran).

Second, I came to admit that my disagreement with feminists stems from the particular privileged status that I have enjoyed as a woman in Iran, thanks to growing up with two stubborn as mule grandmothers, a feminist mother, an extraordinary father--who hates sports and war and cries if a tree dies, and marrying an extraordinary man who guards my freedom to be a woman, even to his own disadvantage. To be honest, having pro-women-right men supporting me is why I do not have the same bitter sense of discrimination. Also, I left Iran when I was young, and perhaps too young to suffer the tangible consequences of discrimination. Yes, women of upper echelons of education, wealth and heritage enjoy relative degrees of matriarchy at home, but it is unfair of me to deny how vulnerable they can still be. (Somehow, the situation of IRanian women reminds me of Fassbinder's BDR Trilogy).

However, the current system of laws is established by legislators of lower status. And to be fair, men are not necessarily saints, and many have silently enjoyed some of the backward post-revolutionary legislations. The Iranian revolution of 1979 made it disadvantageous to belong to the elite; anyone with elitist links or inclinations (whether financial or cultural) was put aside 30 years ago. I knew gigolos, with a picture of Googoosh and Hayede in their bedroom who suddenly turned into pseudo-mollahs, sporting a half beard, forcing their wives to take the backseat of the car and having their 5-year old son sit in front (a process that reversed as soon as the man was retired and the wife became the primary bread-earner!).

What is happening today is a return of the same anti-elitist phenomenon. In other words, Ahmadinejad has begun a war of the classes to reap his own (seriously dubious, as far as national interests go) benefits from. Just as some of the early Islamic fanatics had begun to climb up the ladder of culture and wealth, a new revolution erupted (in the form of a post-presidential coup d'etat). Today, a large group of those neo-elites, founders of the IRI, are in jail.

As Mehdi Jami brilliantly points out: there is a new push for making urbanism and modernity disadvantageous and removing people, physically and psychologically, from a city mentality. He suggests, as an example, the recent Police Maneuver: During this Police show-of-force, the last-year protests were enacted mockingly. Men were cross-dressed in green; wore strong makeup and blond wigs, carried some of the Green slogans together with nonsensical ones such as "we want holidays from Friday to Thursday" [this is really ironic since Ahmadinejad's government is the one to announce random holidays, provoking the economists' outcry that the country CANNOT AFFORD to shut down because Ahmadinejad thinks it's too warm or fears protests in Tehran and wants people to picnic outside the city!] In this show, these cross-dressing men in green outfit were arrested by the riot police and by the plain-clothes baton-waving 'basijis' who were dressed in 'more manly' outfits--thus making official the participation of non-uniformed individuals in the so called security enforcement.

If you know Iran's social and traditional makeup you would know that no self-respecting average Iranian man would agree to cross-dress (unless if homosexual). Therefore, the showmen are not the so-assumed religious supporters of the regime! After all, it is a patriarchic culture--where cross-dressers risk their lives. But, in this patriarchic culture, exists a type of men called "laat" (لات). Laat refers to a man, who is unemployed, who harasses women, who dresses up like a rock star who itches for fights, and is poor. This seemingly macho man often suffers inferiority complexes due to his lower socioeconomic status; and his behavior is often a hybrid between masculine and feminine. Perhaps, they can be characterized as a rebel without a cause--but not middle-class, nor necessarily teenager. These individuals often have a criminal record (be it a street fight, a little drug deal, a sexual indiscretion, petty theft) and thus prime candidates to carry assignments that normal individuals will not (e.g. cross dressing for a police show). As Jami point, it seems Ahmadinejad's power today is consolidated in this sector. Because this type is ruthless, the average Iranian (especially if women) avoids them; thus emptying the scene for Ahmadinejad's full force fascism.

Putting all these stories together (the family law, the indecent proposal of the judge, the police mockery of Iran's urban women--the Green supporters) makes me realize that the Ahmadinejadist vendetta against the Iranian women and their participation in public sphere is serious. One should not be fooled by his media tricks such as appointing a female to his cabinet, or dragging numerous unidentifiable women to fill the empty chair of UN during his ridiculous speech. There is an active plan to make it undesirable for women to work.

I was for long of the opinion that the Islamic Republic provided opportunity for the religious women of more traditional families to join men in economic, educational and professional developments. However, this new wave of Islamism does not even tolerate such participation. When my friend who has just ran away from Iran tells me that if she were sexually harassed, she would never go to the police because god knows how many of these law-enforces would have gang-raped her (and gotten away with it, or had her stoned for infidelity!) then I know that a SERIOUS threat is lurking over women's head: they are intent on making it so unpleasant for women to be 'out', that they will "democratically" choose to stay home ...

So, this is my official announcement: "I am joining the women campaign as of today!"

P.S. I personally think that the Iranian Social Movement should start targeting the judiciary system ... it is in TOTAL ruins ... before fighting the government and the legislator about passing some laws, we should fight the judiciary and hold them accountable to withholding the existing articles of law. Else, the citizens will take the justice in their own hand, leading to an inevitable civil war.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Copie Conforme (Certified Copy) رونوشت برابر اصل

I am just returning from a semi-private screening of this film.



It is directed by Iran's best-known and most advertised (by French intellectuals) filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. He is iconoclastic.

Copie Conforme is full of Kiarostami's signature cinematographs: long monologues in a car, close-ups, very long takes, handheld cameras that disorient and distanciate, and yet a rhythmic marriage of time and space that makes the film work like music. Kiarostami's films crawl up your nerves: irritate you, agitate you, excite and exhilarate you; but give you pleasure at the end, only if you relax, and let your brain stop to make a linear sense, a common sense ... if you enjoy the ride, you will arrive!

I have never written about him, not because I disrespect him or dislike him, but because he is so much talked about, by the orientalist, the exoticians, the in-search-of-a-new-philosophy's that I didn't feel like joining the choir. But, his last film made me appreciate a dimension of his filmmaking abilities which I had not previously experienced. This was his first non-Iranian production and as far as I recall, this is the first time he has directed a cinema-star (Juliette Binoche) in front of the camera. This is the first time he doesn't have to shave his female actor's head to show her without Hijab.

About Binoche and her experience and raving admiringly about Kiarostami's mastery, I won't say much because all her interviews are available online and you can just google them. But I can tell that she deserved every bit of her Canne's award for her performance.

To appreciate Binoche's performance, you have to be able to recognize how easily she shifts through her moods and roles. This is not easy when you have to perform through long takes, muster long monologues, be gazed through the close-up shots, and walk in and out the maze-like spaces and mirrors that compartmentalize the space of the sequence without needing a cut.

Binoche IS a great actor (I have learned to not use word actress, as it is not politically correct!), but this film made me bow to Kiarostami's ability to "mettre en scene": he utilized Binoche next to an opera singer (William Shimell) with virtually no acting experience, to construct a play in three acts, to twist the otherwise banal story of a professional artsy couple with marital issues into a voyeuristic journey through Tuscan and Florentine landscapes. He constructs the story in the most play-full way (even in terms of acting--they are not realist acting at times. Towards the end, the performances made me think of Beizayee actually), and juxtaposes his characters against visually stunning landscapes, lights them and costumes them aesthetically, crowds the screen with brides, and art objects which at times challenge the realism and make us wonder if this is intended to be read as a dream, yet without the cliches of vineyards and art masterpieces and food and tradition, and the exoticism of a writer and an art dealer in the middle of it all.

To reduce this film to visuals is not fair. But, I never offer interpretations about films. Nor do I read them. I suffice to point that Kiarostami does not use the language to tell a story. He rather uses the dialogues to ask questions that may be irrelevant to the underlying narrative of the film. He intends to ask philosophical questions and he asks them explicitly. He offers his views on those questions explicitly too. The beauty of his work for me is that he also injects uncertainty into his own answers by having another character ask another question. His films are full of devil advocates.

This film is not mainstream, if it means that one expects a facile narrative. But it is gorgeous. It happens in three languages. There is a lot of talking and no action; other than Binoche's choreographed moves in and out of frame. This was a jolt of joy in my otherwise down mood! I am grateful to him for making it.

When watching this, I felt he has Frenchized a gentle bit of his early master pieces; like an antology teaser! Tell me, if you feel like that too. I would be more than happy to see him make European adaptations of "Where is the Friend's House?", "Au Traverse Des Oliviers", "Life and Nothing More", and my most favorite: The Wind Will Carry us.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

A friend of Neo-Resistance? Then you MUST meet: Revolutionary Fesenjan

http://revolutionaryfesenjan.blogspot.com

She is an Iranian woman, gorgeous like sun, intelligent and passionate and generous with her time and keyboard. She doesn't chicken out like I do; she doesn't hide like I do, she doesn't sit on her liberal ass like I do. She has not given up, like I have.

You want to understand how the so called "progressive [assholes] who meet with Ahmadinejad" are regressive? Then Read her! She lives these stuff; she doesn't imagine them! She lives them!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Kudos to Obama

Obama has done and exclusive interview with BBC which will be broadcast soon to Iranians, as Obama's direct reach to the people of Iran. But, I just saw a little excerpt of his statement about Ahamadinejad's 9/11 accusations:

"Mr Ahmadinejad's statements are in total opposition to the reaction of the Iranians, who were first to come out in the middle east condemmning the attack and holding candle light vigils for the victims of 9/11. His statements are a proof of how large the gap between the Iranian people and Mr Ahmadinejad is."

...

Obama has also rejected the notion of war.

I will post more when I hear the interview.

Obama, I feel for you! This lunatic is REALLY making it hard for you to not become a war-wager; but I am impressed by the clever response you came up with! Bravo!

Why did Ahmadinejad accuse the US government of "conspiracy"? Because that's what himself DOES as the head of government!

That's it! He means it :)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Best reaction to Ahmadinejad's nonsensical UN speech?

IGNORE IT!

He is an attention seeker; and says completely outlandish things to get your stupid (as proven by the chain of TV interviews that preceeded this UN event) and sensationalist media all worked up with another freak-show.

BOYCOTT ANY REPORT/PUNDITRY ABOUT THAT LOAD OF CRAP!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Allah-o-Akbar pierces Tehran's evening, despite Ahmadinejad howling

Here are two videos; taped tonight Sept 20 2010; Shahrivar 29, 1389. First women and children and men ... allaho-akbar ... supporting Mousavi and Karoubi and reminding the little dictator and his gang that people are not afraid ... in the second video the guards come, in two vans, and blow whistles to hush people and intimidate them ... the cameraman starts ... ALLAHO_AKBAR ... and more voices flollow ... aerial shots have been fired .... the little circus monkey is in New York. Going from one imperialist media to the next; lying through his ugly teeth and his dirty beard; and scared shitless to be confronted and interviewed by any of his opponents in Iran ... avoiding any media debate in Iran; but pulling his pants up and assuming his sorry self a winner on "imperialist media"... the farce man; the shame of the Fars men ...
Allah-o-Akbar ...
Allah-o-Akbar ...
I am not a woman of faith; but I pray tonight, with all my brother and sisters on the roofs of Tehran ... Allah-o-Akbar ... God is Great ...


Thursday, September 16, 2010

Raiding Mousavi's office and promising his trial? The fascist Ahmadinejadists should answer at least "13 million" Iranians!

This is coming from Mousavi's facebook news page:

According to numerous reports the pressure on Green leaders is increasing. Last night security forces attacked the office of Mir Hossein Mousavi and after searching the place confiscated some of the properties including documents and computers. Since few weeks ago and following the brutal attacks on Mehdi Karroubi’s residence by plain-clothes militias and Basij thugs the restrictions on Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi has increased. Security forces have been stationed around Mousavi’s office and Karroubi’s residence and don’t allow anyone to visit the Green leaders. Anyone who attempts to meet with Mousavi or Karroubi is taken away, interrogated and forced to sign a consent that will not return to visit. In addition the chief of staff of Mir Hossein Mousavi's office was arrested few days ago.Also since couple of months ago that the head of the protection team of Mir Hossein Mousavi was dismissed by government the protection team of Mir Hossein Mousavi has been very disorganized. All these new developments are evidence of the future plans of the government in confronting the Green leaders. Based on reports the pressure will escalate against the Green leaders in the coming days and weeks.
Yesterday, on Wednesday, the Tehran prosecutor threatened imminent prosecution of "the heads of conspiracy"--a term referred to Mousavi and Karoubi, the leaders of the post-election protests, by the thugs of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad--who are at each other's throat these days!

Of course, to project fairness and objectivity, on Tuesday, the puppet Tehran prosecutor, Jafari, also stated the obvious that the Butcher Mortazavi is the main suspect of Kahrizak atrocities and two of the escape goats from the Kahrizak guards were sentenced to death--trials behind closed doors! The unstated reason is that one of the young students who was killed in Kahrizak, Mohsen Rouholamini, was the son of an influencial aid of Ahmadinejad and close friend of the Satan-father, Khamenei.

In case the main question is forgotten, this hell broke loose after Ahmadinejadist's number fabrication, that made a vote count that was supposed to look like this, look like that, people (some three million of them) flooded the streets and protested; their silent protest was confronted by the violence symbolized by the shocking images of Neda dying on Camera.

Even if we believe Ahmadinejad's numbers, that Mousavi had only 13,000,000 votes, any arrest or prosecution of Mousavi means that "at least" 13 million Iranians are incarcerated; their demands and rights violated--a recipe for civil war; which incidentally fits well the scenario of these war mongers whose main grudge against Mousavi is not his claims to presidency, rather his not being war-mongering enough.

The biggest beef of the current regime with Mousavi is that at a time that Israel and American armdealers and their Iranian counterparts (like Rafighdoost) were getting rich on the back of a million innocent soldiers dying in Iran/Iraq; Mousavi was the one who concerned himself most with education, with feeding children of my age; and keeping us warm in cold winter nights; when in addition to war, we fought earthquakes and other natural disasters that always plague Iran.

The main problem, currently, is that Israel and the american criminal hawks are drooling over the profitable possibilities of a war with Iran; a war that will give Ahmadinejad's Sepah (IRGC) the absolute power that it wants; because now, there is no Khomeini to listen to his prime minister (Mousavi) and his commander in chief (Hashemi) who convinced him Iran HAD to accept the ceasefire ...

But; my suspicion is that any attack on Mousavi and Karoubi is another nail in the coffin of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad ... these are dead men walking ... zombies who are terrorizing our dreams for now; but their time is soon up ... very soon.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

The IRGC denounces the Quods day protofascist attack on Karroubi's home

For once I am going to believe them! They have issued a statement, condemning the attacks, denouncing that the 'pious' Basij or Sepah would have anything to do with such horrendous actions, admitting that these attacks have come from 'divisive and self-motivated' elements; and have finally cautioned that this is a time to be vigilant about any such acts that endanger the country's unity and stability.

Why do I believe them? Well, I believe one part of this. I will explain.

This news was published by the Ahmadinejadist's Fars (False/Farce) News Agency; a snapshot of which is provided in high resolution below.



The "keyword" in the statement above is "velayatmadar" (meaning people who believe in the Supremacy of Khamenei's leadrship) and "hashiye'i" (fringe), !

The IRGC states: "the brave and Velayatmadar Basij and Sepah commanders and employees of Grand Tehran condemn these mindless fringe actions and emphasize that in the current situation everyone has to act with foresight and restraint to avoid providing excuses for the internal division and conspirators."

Of course the fascist Farce news ends the piece by suggesting that the heads of the green movement have to be tried and punished in courts!

What this tells me is that on the weekend, the thugs were out to try the limits of the Green Leader's resolve. The attacks intensified right after Karroubi's wife published a letter addressed at Khamenei, holding him responsible for the harassment. Following this letter, things got worse, and Karoubi's son came out to point the finger directly at Khamenei, suggesting that the intensification of the attacks must have been Khamenei's reaction to his mothers letter. Then, things stopped, apparently be mediation from IRGC. and, Mousavi and his wife, and Khomeini's grandchildren visited Karoubi's house.

The turn of events suggests Khameni HAS intervened and has ordered Ahmadinejad back to his corner (see this article for understanding the relation between these two.) Ahmadinejad has been testing limits of Khamenei's power as well. A couple of weeks ago he appointed his infamous 'lover' Esfandiar Mashayee (for romantic photos see this :) ) as his official representative to foreign affairs. Khamenei was quick to reject the plan, and emphasize that all foreign 'communications' have to happen through the ministry of foreign affairs.

So, why do I believe that this action was not coordinated and ordered by IRGC and Basij?

Iran is a chaotic country. This chaos has gotten worse, with growth of mafia elements in hierarchies of power. When an attack of such shape and scale takes place, it takes a while for the actual security officials (police, for instance) to figure out who is behind the act, who has ordered them, and what are the connections of the attackers. This event, is a prime example of "marionette fascism"; the people who have been firing bullets at Karoubi's house burning the front door of his apartment, beating the head of his security forces to almost coma, cutting water and electricity and land phones from his house, none of them wear uniform, nor do they carry a Basij membership card. I DO believe that.

If you have lived in Iran, you have witnessed how helpless the police is when it comes to dealing with such criminals. The problem is that such criminal acts are connected to higher-ups. However, in this case, the higher-ups don't seem to see eye to eye about the consequences of this action. But, let's also entertain a conspiracy theory: the neoconservative-backed Monarchists and Mojaheds are not too thrilled about Mousavi and Karoubi's leadership; and miss no chance to undermine their legitimacy by stirring hatred about the political executions that took place when Khomeini was alive and these men were at the helm of power. Would it not be likely that these agitations are fnded by the creators of Jundollah and Al-Quaeda?!

Now, disregarding the conspiracy scenario, and focusing on the more likely case of these thugs being Ahmadinejadist puppets, why would Khamenei suddenly send his minions to "condemn" this act and the Fars News to timidly publish their statement in a non-front page?

1) Iran is completely cornered internationally; and although we have not been hearing much about it, they have been bending over their nuclear huff-puff behind closed doors.
2) the Israel-Palestine talks; and Mahmoud Abbas showing Ahmadinejad the middle finger before the world press (metaphorically)

Not all of these people who attacked Karoubi's house are there for a paycheck ... some of them are actually really brainwashed. Some of them DO believe that he is a "zionist" (which is what they were chanting in front of his house.). The Khamenei-Ahmadinejad axis is aware that as much as they can count on these hooligans to terrorize people to silence about their civil rights, that they also need to contain them. Iran's megalomanic duo (Khamenei + Ahmadinejad) will HAVE to deal with Israel-Palestine peace; and have no choice but to bite the bullet about nuclear program; this is likely to turn the brainwashed automotons against them.

Whatever the reason, they seem to have lost the battle on this front. Not only has Karoubi stood up taller and braver-offering his head but not wavering his demands; but Mousavi and his wife have shown the same courage by paying him a visit, issuing new statements, visiting more victim's houses ...

I welcome the fact that IRGC has condemned these attacks; and if Khamenei was behind this remnounciation, then he has done something "right" since all things began going wrong. it is good to know such violence is not "officially" institutional. But, should we fear these elements create conditions of infestation for a civil war? I don't think Iran is ecologically suitable for growth and multiplication of such parasites--because the "people" and their green leaders were SMART to not get their hands dirty and to not beging the chaos of retaliation. But brainwashed creatures with psychological deformities are dangerous ... let's pray everyone of those who through a stone at Karoubi's house was paid a sum!