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NEWS & LETTERS, April - May 2008Million Signature Campaign in IranWhat is now known as the Million Signature Campaign (MSC) in Iran started about four years ago. A small group of women were concerned with the state of women's rights. The first demonstration of about 20-25, on March 8, 2004, talked about women's human rights being violated. Of course the police came and a number were detained, some were hurt by the police. They were ordered to disband, which they did. That demonstration focused attention on what is March 8: International Women's Day. The next year there was a bombastic demonstration. There were a lot of student demonstrations in Iran and a lot of crossover between student and women's rights discussions. The organizers focusing on women's issues tried to come up with a way to get a wide range of people involved, not let it be an "intellectual exercise." In the past such "movements" had a hard time connecting with working-class people. This time there was an explicit goal to have them articulate their needs and participate. The MSC was chosen as a vehicle: collecting signatures on petitions to reform the family, workplace and criminal laws that target women, to open a dialogue on women's lives. They sponsored workshops in which 20 or so women would gather, usually in someone's house, and have a discussion on what their concerns are with an emphasis on making the discussion participatory. Most would sign the petition; some would organize their own meetings. It gradually grew to become a widespread movement in all provinces, especially in Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. Blogs now are full of appeals for the release of women arrested at recent demonstrations. A lot of women attorneys are involved, Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, being the most prominent. They write very provocatively about the nuances of the laws. In the past 30 years of Iranian history, this is the most widespread, most democratic movement I have seen. There are a lot of disagreements which are being discussed. For example, there was a discussion about an article and photo spread that some felt were highlighted too much. The criticism was that religion is a regressive element in our society. Some said we've made this mistake before--being drawn into populist actions which then took a movement in a different direction, and see where we ended up after the 1979 Revolution when our rights were taken away. Any large movement is in danger of losing its clear principles. There are other aspects of the movement, which are regressive also, but not necessarily religious which need to be challenged. As in any growing movement, it is defused, but it is involving and educating a lot of people. --Nazanin AfarinCaption: Hana Abdi and Ronak Safarzadeh, 21-year-old Kurdish women, have been imprisoned since late last year for their activity with the MSC in Iran. Each has spent three months in solitary confinement. Safarzadeh faces a possible death penalty. Abdi's trial has not begun. |
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