Woman

[Rasputin]

Two well-known and moderate women's rights activists have been detained in Iran since last week for participating in a peaceful street protest. The incident has outraged activists in Iran and elsewhere, but there is much more to it.

On June 23, 2003, after months of heated debate, the then-reformist parliament in Iran passed a bill, in favor of signing a UN document that would abolish legal discrimination against women.

It was a big day for the 14 female MPs, who had tirelessly pushed for the bill in the hope that it would be a serious start to a series of changes in Iranian legal system - and an attempt to repair the Islamic republic's terrible international image on human rights.

But the law, to little surprise, was rejected by an ultra-conservative body (The Guardian Council) which has six top clerics and six lawyers and oversees parliament to make sure its decisions are not against the Iranian constitution or the core values of Islam. (Or their reading of those values.) They said the bill violated both Iran's sovereignty and Islamic law.

The then-77 year-old secretary of the council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, an infamous opponent of the reform movement at the time and a strong supporter of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad now, said it was his saddest day of his work on the council, according to an Iranian official.

The rejection came after months of lobbying and protests (including street protests) by ultra-conservative clerics and their supporters who opposed the bill - despite a small minority of high-ranking clerics, such as Ayatollah Sane'I, who supported the law and didn't find it un-Islamic. The unlucky bill has so far been passed between various legislative councils and bodies and its future is entirely unclear.

Four years later, women's activists in Iran have tried alternative routes to abolish the discriminative laws against women, in areas such as employment, divorce, inheritance and custody rights, among others.

Two different approaches have emerged: One approach believes that the best way to silence the conservative critics, who accuse the reform movement of being a Western import with an aim to undermine religious values, is to construct a broad and inclusive manifesto, from bottom up, by mostly Muslim Iranian women, based on the experiences of post-colonial feminists in Asia and Africa.

The other approach is focuses around a campaign that wants to create local and international pressure on the Islamic republic by collecting one million signatures from ordinary Iranian women, and use that leverage to raise awareness of and abolish the discriminatory laws.

While the former approach tries to work within the current social, political and juridical structure, the latter rejects the structure in the first place and, by using methods of organised, massive civil disobedience, tries to force the establishment to accept the changes.

Both approaches have been more or less tolerated by the Islamic Republic in the past couple of years and, as a result of various conflicting opinions within the establishment, a neutral position has emerged in regards to the women's movement.

But in the past few months, there have been some signs that the American 'pro-democracy' project has developed an appetite for Iran's women's movement. And why not? What else can potentially mobilise half the population of a country against its government and possibly foment Ukranian or Georgian-style coloured revolution?

A Dutch newspaper discovered last year that a controversial Dutch grant to promote 'pro-democracy' media projects was awarded to an American organisation, Freedom House, to launch an online Persian-language magazine (Gozaar) to promote human rights and democracy.

Immediately, Iranian authorities who were already suspicious of the Dutch government's intentions (they are the perhaps the only country other than the US that has publicly created a fund to promote democracy in Iran) started to closely watch the other projects aided by the 15 million Euro fund, which was mostly awarded to European-based Iranian exiles. They began to see the whole budget as a Dutch cover up for the American regime-change project.

One other grant was awarded to an Iranian dissident to start a web magazine on Women's issues. But it emerged that the woman in charge of the web magazine, Shahrzad News, was an active member of what was once an armed opposition group that was outlawed and dismantled in the early years after the Iranian revolution.

Shahrzad News developed close ties with some of the women's activists, mainly with those who favored the civil disobedience approach, and, in addition to having them write articles, it organised a workshop in Dubai to improve the journalistic skills of some women's activists.

At the same time, the US State Department announced that it had created a special office in Dubai to gather intelligence on Iran and establish easier contact with Iranian dissidents. New York Times reported last December that US State Department has indirectly funded workshops on organising civil disobedience, hoping to foment massive revolts in Iran and overthrow the regime.

A mix of paranoia and intelligence has, ever since, led the Iranian government to become extremely wary of the activities of the non-governmental organisations, especially those working on women's issues. Last month they prevented a group of women from attending a new workshop in India, organised by Shahrzad News, and detained three of them for a day. Based on the accounts later published by those activists, the well-behaved intelligence officers questioned them in detail about their financial ties with Shahrzad News and other possible foreign-funded organisations.

And last week they detained over thirty female activists who had gathered in front of a court to protest the prosecution of a few other activists, who were charged with disrupting national security by participating in an street protest on Women's Day in Tehran. They have now all been released, except for two - Shadi Sadr and Mahboobeh Abbasgholizadeh. The Islamic republic has lost much of its tolerance.

It's a sad story. On the one hand, foreign 'pro-democracy' groups try to use women for their regime-change plans. On the other hand, the ultra-conservative factions in the Iranian establishment have found new justifications for painting the entire women's movement as a threat to the national security - which alienates the moderates within the establishment - and are pushing for a total crackdown on any sort of women's activism.

The only thing that could save the women's movement from a further duress is to distance itself from foreign 'pro-democracy' funding and abandon even peaceful street protests. Going back to lower-profile types of activism, engagement with moderate conservative officials (especially in the judiciary) and attempts to enter the local and national legislature are the most effective and least-costly options at the moment.

[c2c75]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Rasputin]

[indian_blues]

yes i seen the film "offside"... it is simply awesome. it deserves more credit.

[Rasputin]

Iranian Women's Human Rights Defenders Once Again Targeted and Arrested

Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh and Nahid Keshavarz, two members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, who were arrested on Monday April 2nd while collecting signatures in support of a petition to change discriminatory laws against women, were transferred to Evin prison this afternoon. They are currently being held in the 209th section of Evin prison, which is managed by the Security Forces. Three other members of the Campaign, Sara Imanian, Homayoun Nami, and Saiedeh Amin, were released after spending a day in detention at the police station.

Nahid Keshavarz and Mahboubeh Hossein-Zadeh along with the other three arrested individuals were taken to the Revolutionary Courts early today. During their interrogations, these two women's rights defenders were asked to sign a statement agreeing to end their activities in the Campaign and on behalf of women. When they refused to do so, the two women were charged with actions against national security and transferred to Evin Prison.

According to those released today and in short conversations these two women had with family members and other women's rights defenders prior to their transfer to Evin Prison court officers told the women that the demands of the Campaign are in contradiction to the foundations of Islam and as such are seen as actions against the state.

Specifically they were told that the demands of the Campaign with respect to equal rights to inheritance for women, equal value on testimony of men and women, equal financial remuneration for bodily injury or death (or blood money), and the elimination of polygamy (currently men are allowed by law to marry up to 4 permanent wives and unlimited temporary wives) were in contradiction to the tenants of Islam.

Mahboubeh Hossein-Zadeh and Nahid Keshavarz are both women's human rights defenders, and active members of the Campaign.

Nahid Keshavarz is a member of the Women's Cultural Center and provides regular news reports and articles for the website of this leading women's NGO www.herlandmag.info and the site of the Campaign weforchange.net. Nahid is a sociologist and also a regular contributor to other leading publications.

Mahboubeh Hossein-Zadeh is a member of the Iran CSOs Training and Research Center koneshgaran.net, which was recently shut down by Security Forces. She served as a journalist for the website of this leading NGO engaged in capacity building for civil society. She has been a journalist with reformist dailies for 7 years.

Both Nahid and Mahboubeh are members of the media committee of the Campaign, which is charged with information sharing and reporting of developments in the Campaign.

[Rasputin]

If you can’t fix the economy,
If you can’t figure out the way to shine in a good light around the globe,
If your friends are the least loved people in the world,
If you don’t know what to do with the minds that think,
If you don’t like what those thoughts bring,
If you have problems with drugs, prostitution, and crime,
If you can’t create jobs to keep everybody decently alive,
It’s time for you to go to the perpetual Plan B,
Where you attack women on the street,
You frighten and insult them,
You degrade and humiliate them,
You drag them away with you to Vozara,
To be paraded through the frightened eyes of those standing by,
And their worried families,
You arrest young men with different hairdos,
You arrest young men and women holding hands,
You arrest young women walking about,
You shout at them, you talk down at them,
You scare and intimidate them,
Now you are safe again for a month,
Go on, enjoy it, your forced values will appear intact again,
For a month.

.........................................

This is what inspired me to write this:



I was reading your post on National Dance Week a few minutes ago. As usual, I can’t add any comments from where I am, so I write them to you.

The day that dawned on you has barely set on us. Only 12 hours of time difference, a few thousand kilometers of distance, and two entirely different worlds.

As usual, now that summer is on its way, authorities in Iran have started persecuting women for the way they dress, and where you live, people can dance in streets and no one would bother them.

My 17 year old son came home late last night. His eyes were reddened by tears. He said he had been arrested by the police, just because he is a young boy. They catch every young boy and check their military service status these days. They also arrest them if their clothes or hair style are inappropriate.

Attached is a small piece of video footage of one of our president’s pre-election interviews. Politicians around the globe tell lies before elections, but he has set a record in this area.

Good luck with your article.

Love,

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

The greatest calamity in the life of any oppressed nation is not to have failed to defeat tyranny and despotism, but to have failed to try."

My views on the struggle of Iranian women for justice and equality are no secret. Like millions of others, I feel absolute shame and revulsion in the knowledge that the women of Iran have, by and large, had to struggle alone to break the legal and social chains with which the Islamic Republic has enslaved them. Whether peacefully protesting for equality under the law, or being viciously harassed about their sartorial choices as in the past few days, they have been the victims, in all too many cases, of extreme brutality meted out by government thugs.

I have asked the rhetorical question in past articles, "Where have Iranian men been as our women have been abused?" From the responses I received, I've surmised that many of my countrymen would prefer if I stopped asking this question. While there are many who feel as I do that our women should be shielded as much as possible from acts of brutality by the regime, others would prefer to follow the ostrich's example of putting their heads in the sand and pretending the problem doesn't exist. Blissful ignorance of the situation facing our women is unacceptable and this is not our way. Iranian men through the millennia have been known for their courage, not their cowardice.

Just when one begins to think that things in Iran couldn't possibly get any worse for the people living there, this regime comes up with something new. Is it any wonder that tens of thousands of young, educated Iranians seek to join the Diaspora every year? The list of reasons to give up on the country is almost endless: soaring inflation, widespread unemployment and underemployment, rampant drug addiction, an epidemic of prostitution, raging religious persecution, extensive state endorsed discrimination of ethnic minorities, unrestricted and unconcealed oppression of women, an explosion in the number of Aids cases, this state sponsored license to kill which was recently granted in a Supreme Court ruling which permits "the pious" to kill all those who don't neatly fit into to the social rubric of Iran's perfect Islamic Utopia without having to worry about facing pesky murder charges. Nazanin Kaviani's poem, Plan B, which was dedicated to her friend, Fariba, speaks volumes of the disillusionment and despair that young Iranians feel toward life in our homeland.

The "bad hejab" crackdown that has been taking place in Tehran the past several days is just another in a never-ending series of outrages perpetrated by this God forsaken regime against our women. This time, however, I am hopeful that men will finally speak out about what is happening. The reason for hope is that it appears Iranian men are for the first time being targeted by the legions of rabid black crows and bearded thugs roaming the city in search of those whose attire doesn't conform to the dark, drab and dreary sartorial strictures of the perfect Islamic Utopia.

Whether men take a more forceful stand on behalf of our women, it is clear that women have been the main targets, yet once more, of the regime. The savagery with which the women of Tehran, both young and old, have been treated is shocking. Black crow brigades have been harassing and arresting our sisters by the thousands. What we have been witnessing from afar is, in a word, SHAMEFUL.

Two nights ago, my mother and I sat watching a talk show on IRIB5, a local Tehran channel, which comes over our satellite. A high ranking Tehran police official was the guest and he spent an hour explaining the merits of the crackdown. He said that this is not so much a crackdown as a new policy of the government. He said that "they" were going to "clean" up the country even if it meant putting every woman in the nation in jail. He said that women, who showed their hair, their ankles, wore clothing deemed too tight, or wore make up deemed inappropriate were not the kinds of women that were fit to walk the streets of "our Islamic society" and that young men who wore short sleeved shirts or gel in their hair were just as bad. He said that the crackdown would never stop until every deviant element had been locked away, so that "decent Iranians" [fascist speak for Black Crows and Bearded Thugs] could walk down the streets without having share the same oxygen with such morally depraved filth. That policeman is just one of millions of regime sycophants that have been brainwashed into believing that any Iranian that doesn't toe the party line, i.e. fully supports the regime's policies and adheres to its agenda, isn't fit to call Iran home.

Regime hardliners and sycophants view those of us who live abroad, and those inside Iran as filth unfit to be considered Iranian. In their eyes we are the enemy. Such people will never be reasoned with. They will never permit real reforms to take place that would accommodate all Iranians whether religious or secular and allow them to live in side by side in harmony. The logic of the Islamo-faucists is so twisted that there can be no compromise with them. All they will ever understand is that which have only understood these past three decades- the language of violence, brutality and intimidation. You can be sure that there are no Rodney King's in the government of Iran. Neither, Mr. King's famous words, "Can't we all just get along," nor the expression, "Live and let live," are part of the Regime's mentality.

Just two days ago, BBC reported that a high ranking member of the Majlis went on the record as saying that people who can't adjust to and live by the regime's Islamic rules should get out of the country because they aren't real Iranians anyway. Haven't enough of us left already!? If anymore young, educated and decent Iranians abandon the Nation, the only ones left one day will be the fanatics that are trying to steal, once and for all, our country from us.

At the rate Iranians have continued to emigrate from the country these past twenty-eight years, it is only a matter of time before signs will need to be posted throughout Iran saying, "Will the last good Iranian to leave, please turn off the lights." People often say, "You can never go back home," and this is surely true for all those who don't make the effort. Our country has been hemorrhaging emigrants non-stop for twenty-eight years and it continues to do so. Now, there are two generations of Iranians that have been born outside Iran raised in a myriad or countries, learning a myriad of languages. It is now clear that the regime wants even more Iranians to leave. They want every Iranian who doesn't agree with the Islamic system to leave and never come back or to die. Either way is fine with them. In a few more generations, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren born abroad will have little, if any of the love that each of us has for Iran. With each new generation born abroad the attachment to the adopted society grows stronger than the generation which preceded it while the attachment to our beloved homeland grows weaker and weaker.

Nothing has been achieved by millions of us [and I include my own mother, here] choosing life in the Diaspora to fighting to regain our country, and the sad truth is that nothing will be gained if anymore of our oppressed brothers and sister do as we have done, and leave. How many more Iranians must be born and raised in foreign countries -learning the customs and languages of other peoples instead of the customs and language of their own people. It won't take many more generations before there is very little Iranian-ness left in the future generations of the Diaspora. Unless the thugs and despots who have brutalized our nation for so long are confronted head on, then Iran's future looks bleak, indeed.

The regime's black crows who this week have demonized our women by calling them filthy names because they don't want to wear chadors have arrested thousands and sent many off to Evin Prison. There they can be beaten and possibly raped by the regime thugs so as to remind them their proper place in society! These fanatics are never going to stop harassing women, students, teachers, labor activists or any other segment of society which questions their rule. They think the country is theirs. They think that they are the only real Iranians! That's why they brutalize everyone who objects to their rigidness.

It is well past time that people start fighting back. Trying to reason with this Islamo-faucist regime and its supporters is useless for the only language they seem to understand is the language of force! Instead of leaving the nation the Iranian people should start fighting back. These black crows need to know that if they harass an Iranian woman that they run the risk of catching a baseball bat in the side of the head. A well-swung ball bat to a crow's head would be more than sufficient to insure that she never again cursed or harassed another Iranian lady. Just as one must crack a few eggs to whip up an omelet, Iranians are going to have to crack a few million fanatics' heads to whip up a little justice and freedom for the Nation.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Correcting the immoral mistake called the Islamic Republic of Iran won't be easy, for the Islamists already are well aware of how despised they are. They also know that they will pay dearly for their crimes should power slip from their grasps. They will never voluntarily relinquish power and they will never share power with more moderate elements. They will, however, be more than happy to turn the nation's streets into rivers of blood should they deem such force necessary to keep the Iranian people under boot and lash. It won't be easy taking back our country from such "true believing" and well-armed filth, but it can be done.

Wresting the nation from their tightly clinched fists won't be without sacrifice, but sacrifice is something our friends and family in Iran already know all too well. They can't do it alone though. Liberating a nation that has been held hostage for so many years requires organization, manpower, money and the means with which to fight back. It will take all of us to destroy the might of our nation's oppressor. Tyranny is always more powerful, more vicious and better organized than freedom in the beginning stages of a struggle. As history has always shown, however, Tyranny's advantage is quickly swept away whenever and wherever those who resist it have hope, for hope is the well spring of courage. With hope and courage nothing is impossible for the Iranian nation and the Iranian people.

While hope and courage are indispensable ingredients in an effort to liberate any nation from despotism, the people must believe that they can overcome the tyrant's power. This is why it is essential that our people stop leaving the country in droves, so that there is someone left to defeat them. We also need a charismatic leader step forward to inspire our people- to make all of us believe that Iran's chains of bondage can really be broken. People of all nations need heroes and leaders that they can believe in, and we are no different. We need a leader who we can believe in and who can make us believe in ourselves and our invincibility. We need a leader who can unify us for as long as we remain divided we remain weak.

One would think that after this much time that such a leader would have already appeared before our people. Perhaps, destiny requires our people to suffer sufficiently before allowing them to taste freedom; so that they never again allow themselves to be duped into permitting despots to enslave our beloved homeland as has been the case for the past twenty-eight years.

Iran's savior is out there somewhere and in time we will all come to know his name. Whether he finally comes in the form of a Monarchist or a Republican is a matter for the Iranian people to decide. Once he steps to the fore and endears himself to our freedom-starved people, Iran's long dark nightmare will be over. Destiny, however, will not be rushed. In the meantime, all we can do is pray that the wait won't be much longer. When the Nation finally embraces him, all those who have supported and collaborated with this brutal regime against our people will be finished.

May God Bless Iran and Save Our Suffering Brothers and Sisters.

[Rasputin]

Change for Equality: Mahmoud Peyqambarzadeh, along with Zeinab’s lawyer, Nasim Qanavi, went to the Revolutionary Courts to post bail in an effort to secure the release of his daughter. In her short phone conversation yesterday, Zeinab had informed her father that she was being transferred to Evin because she was unable to post the 20 million toman bail required of her by the courts. According to Ms. Qanavi, the Security Branch of the Revolutionary Courts refused to allow them entry into court or to post bail for the release of Zeinab. Qanavi went further to explain that “court officials offered us no explanation, except to say that they had informed the “accused,” meaning Zeinab, about the amount of bail required of her.”

“We have secured the bail and if an order for bail has indeed been issued, why don’t they give us an appropriate response as to the status of my daughters case?” explained Mahmoud Peyqambarzadeh. “They have given me no information about Zeinab. Instead the officials have asked me why I did not bring Zeinab to court earlier.”

Apparently prior to receiving a written summons, court officials had contacted Zeinab’s father and urged him to bring her to court, otherwise they threatened to place her under arrest. In response, Zeinab’s father had urged court officials to abide by their own laws and regulations and issue a written summons for Zeinab. Telephone summons are not legal and only written summons are legally binding. As a follow up to their conversation, the courts issued a written summons for Zeinab. Upon receiving this summons Zeinab appeared in court, which resulted in her arrest and transfer to Evin prison.

Zeinab contacted her father from Evin prison this morning and informed him that she was being held in the public Ward 3 of Evin Prison, where Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh and Nahid Keshavarz, two other members of the Campaign who were imprisoned while collecting signatures in early April spent nearly two weeks. Zeinab is being held in the Youth section of of Ward 3, where most inmates are charged with crimes of a sexual nature.

[Rasputin]

يك زن ايراني؛ برترين زيست*شناس سلولي دنيا

يك بانوي زيست شناس ايراني موفق شد جايزه " پتزكولر 2007 " تورنتوي ايتاليا را كه در حقيقت يك نوع جايزه نوبل در رشته غددشناسي است، بدست آورده و به عنوان برترين زيست شناس سلولي دنيا معرفي شود.

به گزاش مهر، مينا جي. بيسل از لابراتوار ملي لاورنس بركلي در كاليفرنيا روز گذشته در شهر ترنتو جايزه پتزكولر 2007 (Premio Pezcoller 2007 ) را دريافت كرد.

اين جايزه نوعي نوبل در رشته غددشناسي است كه از 21 سال پيش از سوي بنياد پتزكولر و جايزه بين المللي تحقيقات درياره سرطان ( International Award for Cancer Research ) به پيشگامان عرصه مبارزه با تومور و سرطان اعطا مي شود.

كميسيون علمي اين جايزه از بين 30 نامزد از تمام كشورهاي دنيا، بيسل را به عنوان بهترين زيست شناس سلولي سال انتخاب كرد.

مينا بيسل در تحقيقاتي كه براساس غدد شناسي انجام داده، موفق شده است، نوعي رفتار بي قاعده در ماتريكس خارج از سلولي را در پاسخ به سلول ها كشف كند.

وي همچنين از سوي بنياد اين جايزه به عنوان رهبر واقعي درك و توضيح تاثير ريزمحيط ها روي لايه جدار اندام هاي بدن پستانداران معرفي شد.

مينا بيسل متولد تهران است اما به منظور ادامه تحصيل در جواني با يك بورس تحصيلي به آمريكا رفت. وي در دانشگاه هاروارد تحصيلات كارشناسي خود را به پايان رساند و از سال 1972در لابراتوار بركلي كه بيشتر كشفيات خود را در آنجا انجام داده، در رشته ميكروبيولوژي مولكولي متخصص شد.

بيسل اين جايزه 75 هزار دلاري را به پاس پژوهش هايي كه در زمينه توانايي ريز محيط هاي تغييرات سلولي، تبديل شدن آنها به تومورها و امكان استفاده از يك سلول سرطاني براي رفتارهاي طبيعي سلول ها دريافت كرده است. (به محيط اطراف سلول ها، ريز محيط مي گويند.)

[Rasputin]

My neighbor lady, Linda, is a petite woman barely 5 feet tall. A few inches shorter and she would be considered 'clinically vertically challenged'. She drives a big-*** SUV; a Chevy Suburban.

To get into the car, she leaves the right foot on the ground and places the left on the threshold and with great effort, catapults herself behind the wheel. Once inside the car, the seat is adjusted with her chest just a few inches from the steering wheel. Since the car does operate, I suppose her feet do reach the pedals too.

What really compels short people, especially short women, to drive these humongous machines? Is it merely compensation for their diminutive statures, or is there more to it?

God knows you don't ever need 4-wheel-drive traction on the freeways and streets of Southern California. I bet Linda has never even engaged the front wheels of her Suburban into action, and probably doesn't know how to do so either. On top of that, she is single lady with no children and can't possibly need the 7 extra seats her Chevy offers. I am not even getting into how difficult it is to parallel-park this monstrosity.

So what gives here? You have the option of driving a subcompact, fuel-efficient, easy-to park-and-operate Japanese car and you opt for this gas-guzzling, ugly, living room-on- wheels.

If the readers don't mind, I shall now attempt to relate this curious phenomenon to the Sexual Revolution. I know, I know, it may sound quite far-fetched. But allow me to elaborate.

Let's face it. Women, in our overly patriarchal societies, have been continually repressed by men for millennia. It was only in the 20th century that they (some of them) gained the rights to vote and participate in politics and societal affairs. The women's movement eventually culminated in the Sexual Revolution of the mid-20th century, when women declared their independence and insisted on having rights equal to those enjoyed by men since the beginning of history. More power to them.

The trouble is, though, you cannot right thousands of years of wrong in only a few decades. The repressed-woman's bottled up anger alone will probably need a couple of hundred years just to vent itself out. Implementation of superficial, remedial (read affirmative) actions without addressing the underlying issues won't be solving the problem.

Unfortunately women were at a disadvantage to begin with. Let's not take lightly the Freudian concept of 'penis envy'. Lacking so prominent an appendage gives rise to severe psychological shortcomings in women, Compound this with the pain of having for centuries been relegated to the home and the kitchen, and you'll have the mental condition of the post-Sexual Revolution woman.

Women are into SUVs because it affords them an illusion of power. The bigger your vehicle is and the higher you are off the ground, the more dominant you feel. You become invincible. Men can't push you around anymore.

If Ford and GM offered Sherman Tanks at their dealers' showrooms, I bet women would be flocking to get them. Behind the wheels of tanks on the streets, women will not only appear bigger and stronger than men, they can also run over their cars and make pancakes out of them if men ever dared get in their way. The long gun barrel extending from the turret of the tank will also do wonders in compensating for their penis envy.

I suppose my neighbor lady is alright after all.

[Rasputin]

Iranian Woman wearing bra in public in Iran!

Here is a video of a very brave Iranian woman who took off the imposed Islamic dress in protest of the Islamic Republic occupying Iran - fellow bystanders urge her to put her clothes on fearing for her safety, as she is showing herself wearing a bra in public in a street of Tehran.

You won't believe it. Just take a look. One needs to have guts to do such a courageous protest action.. This is a form of exasperation result of misogyny.

See the amazing video here.

http://www.therussiajournal.com/node/13249

[Rasputin]

برخورد و نگاه زنان در ایران به موضوع سرگرمی در اوقات فراغتشان متفاوت است. گروهی از آنها سرگرمی را نمی شناسند و درباره اش فکر هم نکرده اند. آنها علت عدم توجه خود به این موضوع را بیشتر مشغله ها و گرفتاری های فراوان زندگی و مشکلات اقتصادی ذکر می کنند.
در میان آنهایی که نوعی سرگرمی را برای اوقات فراغت خود برگزیده اند تنوع فراوانی در انتخابشان وجود دارد.

"الهه مللک زاده"، در ایران روانشناس است و بیشتر مراجعه کنندگانش زنان هستند.

او در رابطه با زنان و انتخاب سرگرمی می گوید: "سرگرمی مطلقا یک علاقه شخصی را دنبال می کند و در برابر آن پولی دریافت نمی شود. در سرگرمی ها می توان توانایی و استعدادهای افراد هم شکوفا بشود. از همه مهمتر که سرگرمی ها به شاد شدن زنان کمک می کند و برای یافتن تعادل روحی آنها خیلی مهم است."

خانم دکتر مللک زاده می گوید در انتخاب سرگرمی مسائل مالی نقش اول را بازی نمی کند: "چون می توان چیزی را انتخاب کرد که هزینه ای نداشته باشد. اما زنان با درآمد کم، فرصت و بیش از آن حوصله پرداختن و یافتن سرگرمی برای خود را ندارند. در کنار همه اینها باید به سخت گیری های خانواده و فشارهای شوهران هم توجه کرد که گاه توجه زنان به خود را گناه کبیره می دانند."

برای تهیه این گزارش، زنان در تهران، در نقاط مختلف شهر درباره این که اوقات فراغت خود را چگونه می گذرانند مورد پرسش قرار گرفتند.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ظهر جمعه در" درکه"، محل تفریحی در شمال تهران، زنان و مردانی که صبح زود به کوه رفته اند باز می گردندند.

به گفته کسانی که در این محل مشغول کسب هستند، حضور ماموران انتظامی برای کنترل پوشش اسلامی باعث شده که از شمار زنانی که سابق بر این روز تعطیل جمعه را در "درکه" می گذراندند، به میزان زیادی کاسته است.

آنهایی هم که آمده اند ازدیدن ماموران انتظامی چهره در هم می کشند و دستی بر روسریشان که پایین تر بیاید.

"ترانه"، ۲۹ سال دارد و به همراه برادرش به کوهنوردی آمده است.

او با لبخند می گوید: "سرگرمی ما همین است که می بینید و حالا هم دارند به دلمان زهرش می کنند. این تنها فرصتی بود که از هوای آلوده تهران چند ساعتی فرار کنیم و در ضمن دوستانمان را هم ببینیم. سرگرمی های دیگر هزینه دارد و همه کس از عهده آنها بر نمی آید. حالا با این وضعی که پیش آمده من ترجیح می دهم در خانه بمانم ."


سرگرمی ما همین است که می بینید و حالا هم دارند به دلمان زهرش می کنند. این تنها فرصتی بود که از هوای آلوده تهران چند ساعتی فرار کنیم و در ضمن دوستانمان را هم ببینیم. سرگرمی های دیگر هزینه دارد و همه کس از عهده آنها بر نمی آید. حالا با این وضعی که پیش آمده من ترجیح می دهم در خانه بمانم


ترانه، 29 ساله

گروهی از زنان ایران در امنیت خانه هایشان کارهای دستی انجام می دهند و هر از گاهی نمایشگاهی برپا می کنند که شوهای خانگی می نامندش .

"سهیلا"، از جمله این زنان است و دیوارهای خانه اش از کارهای دستی اش آراسته شده است: "من با وسایل اضافی مردم کاردستی درست می کنم. هرکس از همسایه ها می خواهد چیزی را دور بریزد اول از من می پرسد که به دردم می خورد یا نه؟ بنابر این کار من هزینه ای ندارد. گاهی وسایل تزئینی می خرم . تا حالا تعداد زیادی گلدان و تابلو و جعبه های تزئینی درست کرده ام و توانسته ام تعدادی زیادی از آنها را بفروشم. برای من مهم این است که به این وسیله سرگرم می شوم، آرامش پیدا می کنم و فرصتی برای فکر کردن به مشکلات زندگی ندارم."

سرگرمی گروهی از زنان دیگر تهیه وسایلی است که درآمد حاصل از فروش آنها در خدمت نیازمندان قرار می گیرد. کارهای تولیدی این زنان بسیار متنوع است، مثل بافتنی، گلدوزی ، گلسازی و ... این کارها در اماکن عمومی و یا خانه ها به فروش می رسد.

در گاراژ خانه ای در غرب تهران تعداد زیادی شیشه های مربا و ترشی و انواع سبزی های سرخ شده چیده شده است. سه زن با خوشرویی از زنان و مردانی که از راه های دور و در ترافیک نفس گیر تهران برای خرید آمده اند استقبال می کنند.

" ملیحه " مسئولیت برگزاری و فروش را به عهد ه دارد: "اینها را زنانی تهیه کرده اند که بعضی از آنها شاغل هم هستند و در اوقات فراغت خود این مواد را آماده می کنند. آدم وقتی در کشوری مثل ایران زندگی می کند که اینقدر بچه فقیر وجود دارد، نمی تواند تنها به خودش فکر کند برای همین شاید برای خیلی ها در ایران سرگرمی آن مفهومی را که در غرب دارد نداشته باشد."

در میدان هفت تیر چند زن با حجاب کامل در فروشگاهی لباس می خرند. از حرفهایشان و چانه زدن با فروشنده و اصرار به اینکه برای امر خیر است، معلوم می شود که در تدارک جهیزیه هستند.


من بخاطر سلامتیم ورزش می کنم ولی یادتان نرود که در ایران خیلی ها بخاطر چشم و هم چشمی کاری را انجام می دهند. حالا هم ورزش کردن درمیان یک طبقه خاص مد شده است


زهره، در تهران

این گروه از زنان بعد از شنیدن پرسش در مورد سرگرمی خود، به هم نگاه می کنند. زن میانسالی که میان آنهاست می پرسد "سرگرمی چیست؟ زنان به اندازه کافی در خانه کار دارند که وقتی برای این چیزها ندارند. اگر فرصتی هم باقی بماند صرف عبادت می شود."

مرد فروشنده که هنوز به قیمت پیشنهادی زنان پاسخ مثبت نداده است، با شتاب می گوید که بهترین سرگرمی برای زنان بزرگ کردن بچه هاست.

زن دیگری همان مبلغ پولی را روی پیشخوان مغازه می گذارد که گفته بود. او می گوید: "اگر دختر دم بختی هم در خانه باشد که تهیه جهیزیه او می شود سرگرمی مادران و امان از گرانی آن."

در میان زنان ایرانی که دغدغه مالی کمتری دارند استفاده از امکانات ورزشی افزایش یافته است.

از ۲۵ زن در یک سالن آرایش در شمال شهر تهران ۸ نفر بطور مرتب در ورزش های دسته جمعی شرکت می کنند.

یکی از آرایشگران معتقد است که آمدن زنان به آرایشگاه هم سرگرمی زنان است.

دررابطه با موضوع سرگرمی، میان زنان حاضر در آرایشگاه بحثی در می گیرد که بیشتر انتقاد است از اینکه وضعیت فعلی و فشارها دل و دماغی برای توجه به موضوع سرگرمی برای زنان در ایران نگذاشته است.


زنان ایرانی نمی توانند به تنهایی برنامه ای برای خودشان داشته باشند. آنها عادت کرده اند که همراه با خانواده باشند. زنان ایرانی استفاده از اوقات فراغت و یافتن یک سرگرمی را یاد نگرفته اند. سرگرمی برای آنها همیشه در درجه آخر قرار دارد و به راحتی فدای کارهای دیگر می شود


عزت، مددکار اجتماعی

"زهره"، از زنانی است که مرتب ورزش می کند: "من بخاطر سلامتیم ورزش می کنم ولی یادتان نرود که در ایران خیلی ها بخاطر چشم و هم چشمی کاری را انجام می دهند. حالا هم ورزش کردن درمیان یک طبقه خاص مد شده است."

در نمایشگاه کتاب تهران، صف بلند بی نظمی در برابر کامیونی که آب می فروشد، تشکیل شده است.

در آنجا فرصتی است که از ۱۰ دختر دانشجویی که دسته جمعی بعد از کلاس درس به نمایشگاه آمده بودند، نظرشان را در مورد سرگرمی شان بپرسم. آنها همگی خواندن کتاب را سرگرمی اصلی خود ذکر کردند.

"فریبا"، دانشجوی رشته جامعه شناسی است و از سانسور کتابها شاکی است که امکان یافتن کتابهای خوب را به آنها نمی دهد.

آنها رفتن به سینما و تئاتر را هم از جمله سرگرمی های خود نام بردند.

"عزت"، مددکار اجتماعی است و تعدادی از زنان را که از افسردگی رنج می برند تشویق کرده است که هقته ای یکبار با او به گردش بروند او می گوید: "زنان ایرانی نمی توانند به تنهایی برنامه ای برای خودشان داشته باشند. آنها عادت کرده اند که همراه با خانواده باشند. زنان ایرانی استفاده از اوقات فراغت و یافتن یک سرگرمی را یاد نگرفته اند. سرگرمی برای آنها همیشه در درجه آخر قرار دارد و به راحتی فدای کارهای دیگر می شود."

آنچه در میان زنان مورد پرسش قرار گرفته جلب نظر می کرد، صرف نظر از نوع سرگرمی آنها، تمایلشان به صرف وقت بیشتر با خانواده هایشان بود و دلتنگی همه از اینکه دشواری های زندگی در ایران این فرصت را به آنها نمی دهد.