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The irrepressible spirit of revolutionary IranReminiscent of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, this mass movement has unleashed the fury of people who have endured 30 years of ruthless oppression. Many dissidents, who did not have the chance to show an independent voice, have gone far beyond reform. This feels like the same irrepressible spirit of the revolution 30 years ago--the same uncompromising will with full knowledge and acceptance of the bloody sacrifices that must be made in pursuit of freedom and justice. Even the slogans, and actions--like the prank newspaper headline "Ahmadinejad is gone" held up by demonstrators--are an echo of the famous Keyhan newspaper headline when the revolution forced the Shah out of Iran: "The Shah is gone." The demonstrators know the thugs want to kill a few of them to scare them off, but they are ready, dressed all in green (like in the revolution days when they would dress all in white, and say they are ready to die in the name of freedom). For the past few years the Islamic Republic has been steeped with widespread corruption, shameful foreign policy, inflation and a bleak job market for the youth. There have been sporadic protests by the women's and student movements, and workers' strikes in the last years met with bloody clampdowns. The movement was practicing for today's outpouring and has become wise, full of analysis, calls for unity, and advice on how to stay non-violent, as well as calls outside of Iran to make the world aware of what is going on. The grassroots One Million Signature campaign (see April-May 2008 N&L "Million Signature Campaign in Iran"), and most other women's rights groups, have made it clear that their struggles for civil rights are inseparable from the rights of workers, students and others. Women campaigned vehemently for three election demands: for Iran to ratify the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; to eliminate discriminatory laws against women; and to grant women equality under the law, lifting repression against women, students, and workers. Women used the pre-election atmosphere to inject their agenda into the dialog with the public and candidates. The student movement and the women's rights movement reinforced each other. The regime's responses to women's demands became the measure of how repressive it is in all spheres of life. Women are deeply involved in the struggle for change and their resistance has become emblematic. This is huge progress from the days of the revolution, a beacon of hope that we will not allow women's rights to be sacrificed. The One Million Signature campaign's style of grassroots activism and broad and horizontal movement, is a pioneering force. It's heartwarming to see women at the forefront of protests and sit-ins. On June 17, Nobel Prize winner, civil rights attorney and feminist Shirin Ebadi was among those who called for a new election with the presence of international observers. She also called for immediate release of Zahra Rahnavard, Mousavi's wife, whose public presence as a spokesperson for Mousavi's campaign has been a source of inspiration for the more conservative of the reform. Rahnavard has been challenged for her limited vision and presumption of leadership by some of the more radical of the student movement. For example, when she tried to get students to peacefully leave one of their protests, they told her that her husband was "one" candidate, that their demands go far beyond the fraudulent election results, and that they will decide when and how they will leave their protest. This government does not shy away from using instruments of extreme violence: Ansar Hezbollah, guardians of the revolution; and Basij, chock full of thugs with experience of savage war with Iraq and military attacks in Kurdistan. The emails, pictures, films streaming on the net are full of bloodied faces and bodies being dragged by the hair. Students are being attacked in their sleep in the dorms, some shot to death. It is horrific that the body of a young woman student movement leader was found on June 17, stabbed 25 times, her neck ripped open. And Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman shot to death in the streets by a sniper, has galvanized women and youth the world over who vow that she will never be forgotton. Masses keep pouring into the streets, full of determination, hope, steadfastness and awesome force that only a people committed to their liberation can show. |
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