Veiled Men and Gender Identities
About 7 days ago an Iranian student (Majid Tavakoli) who was
anti-government activist was arrested. After his arrest, state-supported
media organizations in Iran published photographs of Mr. Tavakoli wearing
women’s clothes — supposedly proving that a story about him attempting
to flee the authorities disguised as a woman was true. Instead of proving
anything, the images enraged supporters of the opposition who pointed to
eyewitness accounts that said he was dressed normally when he was arrested,
and charged that the images had been staged by the authorities to embarrass
the student leader.
Soon after those photographs were published, Iranian men who wanted to
show their support for Mr. Tavakoli started to take photographs of themselves wearing the kind of head scarf they believe the student leader was forced to wear — and all women in Iran are forced to wear and posted
many pictures in their Facebook profiles and twitter.
I recommend this short clip on YouTube as well:
Now many Iranian bloggers start writing about the issue and talk about this fact that why Iranian men have being remained silent on compulsory veiling on Iranian women after Islamic Revolution in 1979.
I also think this event is amazing because as an Iranian woman, I am
extremely surprised of what Iranian men who are raised and grown up in the totally patriarchical context are wearing veil! I am actually would like to study on this case from women’s studies perspective and how recent changes in Iran contribute to the concept of gender equality and how it has made men to be more sensitive on “women’s issues”. It’s also interesting that how the strict gender boundaries are becoming vague as a result of a bigger social change.
Iranians Making the Protest Fun!
No Knife!
Even You, My Dear Friend!
It’s a funny pic from Qods day rally in Tehran. The guy wrote “No knife! Even you my dear friend” in his T-shirt. Writing this sentence, the guy addresses basiji and plain clothes security forces who using knifes and batons in silent rallies against Green Wave Movement supporters who protest against the Presidential election’s result.
This pic is an indicator of this fact that people are using black humor and sarcastic reactions to make themselves happy and cheerful when they are in the streets and protest against the government, though the regime uses incredibly violent basiji militia to choke the protests off.
This “even you, my dear friend” in Persian is a friendly expression for respectfully disagreement with somebody’s action.
Green Wave supporters try to make their dissent joyful for considerable modifications, so they initiate the rallies to be fun!
About Qods Rally
How a nation (Iran) who does not have any freedom, can rally for releasing another nation (Palestine)?!
My Palestinian Friend!
I understand your feelings NOW well.
Karroubi Stands Again
Mehdi Karroubi, issued a statement on Monday giving new details of prison abuse allegations in Iran, just days after a judicial panel rejected such claims and the country’s supreme leader warned of a “harsh response” to those making them.
Some opposition Web sites posted videos on Monday of a young man who described being raped while in custody, and then being forced to go into hiding after authorities threatened to kill his family for his cooperation with Mr. Karroubi in making the rape allegations public.
Karroubi is famous because of his uncontrolled braveness! He stands for accusing the government rape to the recent unrest prisoners and declaired that I am pretty sure that this the most sensitive point of the Islamic Republic government. He, as a clergy who has have a central point in establishing and stabilizing Islamic regime knows well that if he continues resisting in raping people in this regime, it will be a considerable affective reason in collapsing so-called “Islamic regime”!
Arabian Velvet Revolution Starts
According to Associated Press, Google Inc. launched an online tool Tuesday that allows Arab users to answer each other’s questions, a move designed to boost the amount of Web content available in Arabic.
If Iranian officials analyze the aim of the action, they will say that the West is trying to lead velvet revolution in Arabian Countries, as they claim it when Google launched Persian Translation tool!
Who Is Serving the Public?
All the moments I was watching Obama’s addressee in the Congress, I thought who is really serving people? Muslim Iran’s president or Non-Muslim America’s president?
Embedded video from CNN Video
Ahmadinejadians Are Preparing for the Third Election
Mojtaba Hashemi Samareh, a close Ahmadinejad’s friend in the ceremony honored members of the electoral headquarters of Khuzestan province said: All the staff were working in Ahmadinejad’s supporters branches should keep their unity, because “the third election is ahead”.
In addition, Fatemeh Rajabi, Ahmadinejad’s Cabinet speaker’s wife and the author of “Ahmadinejad: Third Millinum Miracle” wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad recently and said: It seems that as a believed Shiite in the administration power, you should act in order to be ready for the “the third step”.
There was unconfirmed news around three months before the presidential election that Ahmadinejad had said in a private meeting that they should change the Constitution and increase the legal two periods of presidency. Believing this piece of news was not easy and it seemed ridiculous, but the election held and there occurred an extremely ridiculous fraud in it and learned Iranians to expect any other unbelievable events.
I believe that Samareh Hashemi’s comment should be considered and taken serious because he is in Ahmadinejad’s tight inner circle. Changing the Constitution is not impossible in these days because the hugely rigged election seemed impossible but it happened and because if they try to change the Constitution, there is nobody in the current structure of power in Iran to oppose. We really cannot expect the parliament members to stand againt these kind of efforsts. Parlimament members who one of them is the head of Kahrizak and the others lie about the prisoners conditions easily.
The third stage for Ahmadinejad is neither too far, nor too late.
When Islamic Regime Is Afraid of Spiritual Nights
Qadr nights have been probably the most spiritual ceremony in Ramathan which make Iranian people and the government officials to gather each year for praying and meditating. According to Muslims’ beliefs, these nights are better and holier than one hundred months and the best time for people for self-purification, because in these nights angels come from the heaven and fill all the world of mercy.
This year, for the first time in recent twenty years, the Shrine of Imam Khomeini , where every year the ceremony is held announced that they apologize not to be able to hold this ceremony this year because of “some problems ahead”.
Former president Mohammad Khatami, a supporter of Mousavi, was scheduled to speak during religious ceremonies starting Wednesday at Khomeini’s tomb, but has been barred from doing so. According to Ettemaad, millions of people were planning to attend. The event is organized annually by Khomeini’s grandson Hassan, a 37-year-old cleric who supports Mousavi. He is the official custodian of the shrine. But according to recent news, the cancellation of this year Qadr nights’ ceremony has been the result of National Security Council pressures on Hassan Khomeini in order to avoid gathering Mousavi’s supporters in the Khomeini’s Shrine.
Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the Islamic Republic founder and theorist is the closest Khomeini family member who is alive and almost active in the political scene of Iran, although he does not have any official political position. In his recent adventures, following on the presidential election results, he did not attend the validation ceremony of Ahmadinejad and demonstrated that he does not know his state legitimate. Therefore, it seems he inherited some of his grandfather’s boldly characteristics.
The cancellation of Qadr nights ceremony in the Shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic, thirty years after the establishment of the religious regime in Iran and twenty years after the death of the founder and theorist of very this regime, shows that Islam religion and all its related icons are used as a stick for hitting governments officials heads. On the other hand it indicates this fact that this religious regime is devastating gradually, because all decisions in this regime were supposed to be made according to Islamic codes and orders, but in this system they cancel the important Qadr nights ceremony easily and forget about what their religion is ordering about!
The gap between nation-state is so formidable that even the pretext of holding the thousands of top nights ceremony is not a reasonable cause to confront with frustrated opponents who are protesting to the presidential election results.
Learn Me What Is Your Approach?
Dr. Abdul-Hossein Rohol-Amini, one of the killed ones’ father in the after election unrest in Iran said:
Some of my friends ask me whether or not I have a complaint about my son’s murderer? I’ve told them we have time enough to complain. But I know that the Supreme Leather (Ali Khamenei) is ahead of investigating about current unrest aftermaths…. Therefore we have a reliable assurance that we will not trample the blood of my son and other innocent victims.
It seems that he is a faithful real Muslim who believes that God suffer people more who loves more from the deepest pont of his heart.
I just would like to know what is his respond to this question that who will benefit of his deep faith and why he spends his Islamic beliefs on justifying a dictator system. Does his regime worth his son’s blood?
I actually don’t want to judge him and I am sure that I all all other who condemn him to meet Khamenei are not sadder than him. I just wanna know what is the process of his thinking about this issue?
Who Are Iranians?
According to Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader: University professors: Commanders of soft war.
University Students: Officers of soft ware
According to Ahmadinejad: Iranian People: 70 million members of Ministry of Intelligence
According to one of parliament members: Iranian People: 70 million Militants
Suggested Minister of Intelligence: Our task is confronting the virtual networks in cyberspace which is even penetrated in rural areas deeply.
Well!
70 million Iranian militants have to fight in a war which the university professors are commanders and students in order to eradicate virtual networks in cyberspace which have been penetrated in Iran’s rural areas!
