TEHRAN- On September 14, TIME magazine published an article titled “Iranian Women Are Still Fighting”. The article, written by Nazanin Boniadi, reviews Iran’s last year unrest and claims that Iranian women continue to fight against the Islamic Republic.
Her note on the events of September and October 2022 provides an opportunity to review what she calls “the most promising political movement in modern Middle East history.”
After a year, the superficial perceptions of these events under the title of “a civil movement” have been abandoned, and the politics and plans behind the so-called unrest are crystal clear to everyone. The plot had nothing to do with women’s rights. And if it had, we would have heard Sarah Everard and Ta’ Kiya Young’s names louder.
In order to show the originality of what Boniadi calls the foundation of a civil movement, death of three women in three different locations will be reviewed:
On the evening of March 3, 2021, Sarah Everard, 33, was kidnapped and murdered by a police officer in Clapham, South London, as she was walking home. She was raped, and her dead body was burned by the police officer. In response to Sarah’s tragic death, a limited demonstration was held and the English police dispersed the crowd and arrested a number of demonstrators and put them on trial. So her name is barely heard these days.
On August 24, Ta’kiya Young, a 21-year-old pregnant black mother, was fatally shot and killed by an Ohio police officer. The protests on her death were also very limited, and this is despite the fact that she was only one of the black people who were killed by the American police in the street. The news about her death was barely covered, and her tragic death is also forgotten.
On September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested by morality police in Tehran and died in the Kasra Hospital. Following the release of her death, her name turned out to be on the top of the news. Despite reports by the police and the judiciary that her death was due to her chronic illness, referring to her medical records, the media outlets opposing the Islamic Republic announced baselessly that she was killed due to a blow to her head while she was in police custody. Even the release of CCTV videos didn’t stop the media outlets from insisting on the theory of Mahsa Amini’s murder.
Provoked by the Western media outlets, riots started in Tehran and some big cities, and soon, trained professional groups came into action, primarily seeking two main plots: starting a civil war and separatism. For those who remember the Syria war, many of the field and media techniques were reminiscent of the height of the conflict in Syria.
Self-proclaimed leader of the movement speaks of misogyny
“The Islamic Republic of Iran was built on the bricks of patriarchal misogyny,” claimed Boniadi.
The growing number of women taking university seats and job opportunities along with women’s superiority in higher education compared to men, and women’s funded education prove the approach of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the position of women in society.
By the start of Iran’s 2022 riots, Boniadi, as a less-known actress, turned into one of the self-proclaimed leaders of the country’s unrest. She probably knows very well that even if there is a problem in a society, it should be tackled gradually within the society and not by foreign intervention or disintegration of the country.
“History has shown us that when women are at the frontlines, democratic movements not only have a greater chance of success, but also a better outcome for all who seek their rights and their freedoms,” she claimed in part of her article, which can be rewritten more precisely as: History has shown us that if an independent country with a specific geopolitical position decides to take a different path, forces will be used to disintegrate it.
They (foreigners) will use their tools to punish and disintegrate a country that has chosen a different path. The tool can be under the guise of a movement abusing the name of women or it can be an excuse for fair election.
Finally, she stated: “Iran’s Woman Life Freedom revolution not only endures, but is one of the most important and promising political movements in modern Middle East history.” Two days after the publication of her article in TIME and on the anniversary of the revolution that she wanted, Iran was calm and the only unusual news was the martyrdom of two Basij members by two motorcycle riders in Nourabad, a city in the northwest of Fars province.
The outcome of the desired political movement by Boniadi was a fundamental shock and sadness for the people of Nurabad, which is a small town in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains.
Yaser Shojayan and Pouria Khoshnam were assassinated on September 16, while they were just guarding the city.
Their funeral was held on September 20 with a large participation of the people. Their martyrdom was only a small part of Boniadi and her fellow believers’ expectations.
They should keep in mind that with the media hype, only a part of the public opinion can be diverted, but double standards would never be accepted by the majority of people.
People are well aware that today the biggest supporters of “women, life, freedom” are actually the most experienced criminals and murderers of women and children. The ridiculous performance of the ambassador of the Zionist regime at the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly proved the backing of the apartheid regime for the “women, life, freedom” movement.
Source: Tehran Times