NEWS))))))
Zahra Jabari, a female prisoner in danger of ill-health
Amnesty International said on 27 March that according to reports by human rights activists in iran, prisoner of conscious, Ms Zahra Jabari is suffering from heart problems and acute rheumatism and is hardly able to walk without aid. Medical authorities in prison have refused to treat her on the grounds that they lack proper facilities and the Evin interrogators have refused her transfer to a medical centre where she can receive proper care which her family have undertaken to pay.
Zahra Jabari, 36 married with a child was arrested on 17 September and taken to solitary in Evin. She was tortured so badly that one of her finger-nails fell. The interrogators were pressing her to ’confess’ and have even refused her family bring her fresh clothes or any visitation.
She is still wearing the same clothes she was wearing 6 months ago when arrested. Ms Jabari appeared at the revolutionary counrt 28 on 12 of March, handcuffed. Her family members were not allowed to be present. She was expected to be questioned by Mohammed Moghiseh also known as Naserian who was a member of the Commission which approved the massacre of 1988 political prisoners. The ’judge’ did not show up and the court was delayed without a set date for the next time. Ms jabari’s atorney managed to get hold of her file and said there was nothing in the file except that Ms jabari’s brother and sister reside in Camp Ashraf in Iraq, where the anti-government group, Mojahedin Khalq live. This prisoner has been badly tortured and has spent long time in solitary and with her medical condition worsening and her life in danger her family and human rights activists urge the international community to raise their voices against the brutal treatment of political prisoners in Iran especially Ms Jabari and many others like her.
EU Council declaration on free access to information in Iran
The European Unions calls on the Iranian regime’ to stop the jamming of satellite broadcasting and Internet censorship and to put an end to this electronic interference immediately.’ In a statement adapted on Monday the EU Council said: ’The EU is determined to pursue these issues and to act with a view to put an end to this unacceptable situation.’
Rafsanjani’s grandson arrested in Iran over protests
Reuters reported on March 22nd that a grandson of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has been arrested for taking part in post-election protests last year, a news agency said on Monday. Hassan Lahouti was detained by security police Sunday at Tehran airport after arriving on a flight from abroad, the Fars news agency said.
A source close to the family told Fars that Lahouti, believed to be in his 20s, left the country last year, days after the presidential vote in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected. Lahouti’s mother, Faezeh Hashemi, was among several of Rafsanjani’s relatives held briefly for joining rallies in June, when the unrest first erupted.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
NEWS))))))
Mounting suppression and pressures on political prisoners at Gohardasht prison on the brink of Iranian New Year
On the brink of the Iranian New Year, Nowrouz, the clerical regime in Iran has intensified suppression and increased pressures on political prisoners at Gohardasht prison in the city of Karaj near capital Tehran. According to National Council of Resistane of Iran’s statement on March 19, the prison’s water has been shut off since Tuesday and the hygienic situation at the medieval prison has deteriorated even more.
Visits with family members have been prevented. On Saturday and Sunday, Gohardasht prison guards attacked and beat inmates, absurdly alleging discovery of drugs and prevention of “setting fire to prison during Fire Festival.” Political prisoners Mansour Osanlou and Behrouz Javid Tehrani have been transferred to solitary confinement. Also Mr. Afshin Baymani has been placed under repeated interrogations.
Mourners Honor Victims of Iranian Election Violence
CNN reported on March 18 that mourners paid respect Thursday to victims of a government crackdown in Iran following last year’s disputed presidential elections, as security forces kept a close watch. Neda AghaSoltan, 26, became emblematic of the harsh government response to protests. It was the last Thursday before the start of Norooz, the Persian New Year, a day on which Iranians traditionally visit the grave sites of loved ones.
At the Beheshteh Zara cemetery in southern Tehran, the mourners included several who paid respects to Neda Soltan, who became known simply as 'Neda' after a video camera captured her final moments on June 20; she was shot to death during a post-election protest. According to other reports on the subject, the authorities made the visit difficult for the people. One of the authorities reportedly was sitting on Neda’s grave and when asked to stop the insult and move, he told the visitors to pay their respect by blue tooth.
Iranian regime plans to execute 6 arrested in protests
New York Times reported on March 16 that six people arrested in December protests will be put to death, Iranian authorities announced Monday, in what appeared to be strong warning ahead of a traditional annual celebration.
Mounting suppression and pressures on political prisoners at Gohardasht prison on the brink of Iranian New Year
On the brink of the Iranian New Year, Nowrouz, the clerical regime in Iran has intensified suppression and increased pressures on political prisoners at Gohardasht prison in the city of Karaj near capital Tehran. According to National Council of Resistane of Iran’s statement on March 19, the prison’s water has been shut off since Tuesday and the hygienic situation at the medieval prison has deteriorated even more.
Visits with family members have been prevented. On Saturday and Sunday, Gohardasht prison guards attacked and beat inmates, absurdly alleging discovery of drugs and prevention of “setting fire to prison during Fire Festival.” Political prisoners Mansour Osanlou and Behrouz Javid Tehrani have been transferred to solitary confinement. Also Mr. Afshin Baymani has been placed under repeated interrogations.
Mourners Honor Victims of Iranian Election Violence
CNN reported on March 18 that mourners paid respect Thursday to victims of a government crackdown in Iran following last year’s disputed presidential elections, as security forces kept a close watch. Neda AghaSoltan, 26, became emblematic of the harsh government response to protests. It was the last Thursday before the start of Norooz, the Persian New Year, a day on which Iranians traditionally visit the grave sites of loved ones.
At the Beheshteh Zara cemetery in southern Tehran, the mourners included several who paid respects to Neda Soltan, who became known simply as 'Neda' after a video camera captured her final moments on June 20; she was shot to death during a post-election protest. According to other reports on the subject, the authorities made the visit difficult for the people. One of the authorities reportedly was sitting on Neda’s grave and when asked to stop the insult and move, he told the visitors to pay their respect by blue tooth.
Iranian regime plans to execute 6 arrested in protests
New York Times reported on March 16 that six people arrested in December protests will be put to death, Iranian authorities announced Monday, in what appeared to be strong warning ahead of a traditional annual celebration.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Despite the decrees by Ali Khamenie- Iranian regime's supreme leader- in condemning charshanbe soori, the people of Iran, has come out to celebrate the last Wed. of the Iranian calender year. According to reports in various cities and towns people are clashing with the security forces. In Tehran, Shiraz, Esfahan, Ilam, Ahvaz, Tabriz,... people are making bonfires and jump or leap over them and they are shouting anti government slogans. Helicopters are patrolling over Tehran to control the situation. It's been a few years in which the charshanbe soori celebration has turned into a political act against the mullah's regime.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Happy Charshanbe Soori
Last Wednesday of the year (Chahar Shanbeh Suri)
On the eve of last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar year, literally the eve of Red Wednesday or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places and people leap over the flames, shouting:
“Give me your beautiful red color” and “take back my sickly pallor”!
On the eve of last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar year, literally the eve of Red Wednesday or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places and people leap over the flames, shouting:
“Give me your beautiful red color” and “take back my sickly pallor”!
With the help of fire and light symbols of good, we hope to see our way through this unlucky night - the end of the year- to the arrival of spring’s longer days. Traditionally, it is believed that the living was visited by the spirits of their ancestors on the last day of the year. Many people especially children, wrap themselves in shrouds symbolically re-enacting the visits. By the light of the bonfire, they run through the streets banging on pots and pans with spoons called Gashog-Zani to beat out the last unlucky Wednesday of the year, while they knock on doors to ask for treats. Indeed, Halloween is a Celtic variation of this night. In order to make wishes come true, it is customary to prepare special foods and distribute them on this night. Noodle Soup (AASH) a filled Persian delight, and mixture of seven dried nuts and fruits, pistachios, roasted chick peas, almond, hazelnuts, figs, apricots, and raisins.
Fal-Gush
This is another ritual in which someone makes a wish and stands at the corner of an intersection, or on a terrace or behind a wall. That person will know his fortune when he overhears conversation of a passerby. Since the advent of their reign in Iran, the mullahs’ rule considered joyous ancient Persian traditions as obstacles to the spread of their religious fascism and Islamic fundamentalism and their hopes to hijack the Iranian nation and its traditions. In this war of ‘Good’ against ‘Evil’, the Iranians used these very traditions as a strong weapon to resist this cultural attack. Mullahs have tried for 31 years to brand these festivities as superstition; however, these traditions grew deeper and stronger. Especially Chahar-Shanbeh Suri has turned into a feast of fire to show people’s hatred for the mullahs. Despite government bans and arrests, millions of people, especially the youth, use bonfires, firecrackers and sound bombs on this night to say a ‘BIG NO’ to the mullahs. This year the festivities has started even earlier than usual. It’s been a week since the youth in various cities set up firecrackers to scare the Bassiji, Pasdars, plain clothes agents, etc.
Happy charshanbe soori
Sunday, March 14, 2010
NEWS))))))
Associated France Press reported on March 9 that: the boyfriend of an Iranian woman, who became an Opposition icon after images of her death at a Tehran protest spread across the Internet, says the event has turned him into a staunch activist.
A year ago, ’I wouldn’t have thought that I would be here,’ Caspian Makan told AFP on the sidelines of a human rights conference in Geneva. ’It changed my life, I’m very active right now I’m going to be more of an activist,’ said the writer and documentary maker after he fled Iran and found refuge in Canada. ’I lost my love, I lost my country, I miss everybody, my family, my job,’ added Makan, speaking through an interpreter.
A graphic mobile phone video of her bleeding to death on the ground was seen around the world, triggering an outcry over the brutal crackdown on demonstrators.
Makan appeared at the Geneva conference alongside dissidents from China, Cuba, Myanmar, North Korea and Zimbabwe. ’She was convincing me how we should go... we have to stand up, we have to raise our head against the regime,’ Makan said.
And yet she had refused to vote in the election, dismissing it as a ’show.’
******
Deputy IRGC Commander: Today, we stand at the most challenging historical juncture
According to National Coucil of Ressistance of Iran, the Deputy Commander of the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, voiced distress over the possibility of the clerical regime’s overthrow, saying: “…Today, we stand at the most challenging historical juncture. We must have the ability to withstand the power of arrogance which has come to the fore with all its might,” state-run news agency Fars reported on Monday.
The IRGC Deputy Commander also expressed worry about what he described as “the political isolation, sanctions, and a cultural and security assault” against the clerical dictatorship, adding: “Today, the IRGC is engaged in a battle with the enemies of the Islamic revolution on multiple fronts.” Separately, Ali Saeedi, the representative of the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the IRGC, expressed concern about the Iranian people’s growing hatred and anger towards the clerical regime. He said: “In the early days of the revolution, the people were more inclined to use religious names for their children, but today, there is less interest in that.”
Saeedi admitted to the defeat of the regime in imposing the culture of fundamentalism over universities and other parts of society, saying: “We must seek the reason for the way our young daughters and son dress like this. It is unfortunate. And, look at our mourning ceremonies, weddings, and celebrations. … (We) have not been successful on the issue of cultural revolution. … These universities have not been accountable to the establishment and we have to pay attention to this.”
Iran: Mullahs issue religious decrees in opposition to traditional Fire Festival celebrations
The Iranian regime has issued fatwas or religious decrees against the traditional annual celebrations known as (Chaharshanbeh Suri) or Fire festival, which takes place on the last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar year (March 16, 2010). The regime declared the celebrations to be against Sharia law and akin to “superstition” while calling on Iranians to refrain from participating in it. The state-run Mehr news agency reported from Qom that mullah Jafar Sobhani has described the Fire Festival as an example of false traditions. “Leaping over a bonfire and saying some words … is not at all appropriate,” he said, referring to the specific Fire Festival tradition that includes people going into the streets and alleys to make fires, and jump over them while singing special song: Your fiery red color is mine, and my sickly yellow paleness is yours.
Sobhani warned Iranians “not to become subject to matters that run counter to Sharia law and wisdom.” The Fire Festival has been held across Iran every year in anticipation of the New Year, but it has also taken a political dimension because people use it as an opportunity to express their anger and opposition to the ruling dictatorship while burning posters and pictures of the regime’s leaders. Another mullah in Qom was also quoted by the same news agency as saying that the rites and actions performed during the Fire Festival in Iran are not in line with religious guidelines. Fazel Lankarani added: “The issue of the Fire Festival is a superstition and baseless. Some of the actions performed during that day are not in line with religious guidelines and … are examples of actions which are contrary to Sharia.”
Associated France Press reported on March 9 that: the boyfriend of an Iranian woman, who became an Opposition icon after images of her death at a Tehran protest spread across the Internet, says the event has turned him into a staunch activist.
A year ago, ’I wouldn’t have thought that I would be here,’ Caspian Makan told AFP on the sidelines of a human rights conference in Geneva. ’It changed my life, I’m very active right now I’m going to be more of an activist,’ said the writer and documentary maker after he fled Iran and found refuge in Canada. ’I lost my love, I lost my country, I miss everybody, my family, my job,’ added Makan, speaking through an interpreter.
A graphic mobile phone video of her bleeding to death on the ground was seen around the world, triggering an outcry over the brutal crackdown on demonstrators.
Makan appeared at the Geneva conference alongside dissidents from China, Cuba, Myanmar, North Korea and Zimbabwe. ’She was convincing me how we should go... we have to stand up, we have to raise our head against the regime,’ Makan said.
And yet she had refused to vote in the election, dismissing it as a ’show.’
******
Deputy IRGC Commander: Today, we stand at the most challenging historical juncture
According to National Coucil of Ressistance of Iran, the Deputy Commander of the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, voiced distress over the possibility of the clerical regime’s overthrow, saying: “…Today, we stand at the most challenging historical juncture. We must have the ability to withstand the power of arrogance which has come to the fore with all its might,” state-run news agency Fars reported on Monday.
The IRGC Deputy Commander also expressed worry about what he described as “the political isolation, sanctions, and a cultural and security assault” against the clerical dictatorship, adding: “Today, the IRGC is engaged in a battle with the enemies of the Islamic revolution on multiple fronts.” Separately, Ali Saeedi, the representative of the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the IRGC, expressed concern about the Iranian people’s growing hatred and anger towards the clerical regime. He said: “In the early days of the revolution, the people were more inclined to use religious names for their children, but today, there is less interest in that.”
Saeedi admitted to the defeat of the regime in imposing the culture of fundamentalism over universities and other parts of society, saying: “We must seek the reason for the way our young daughters and son dress like this. It is unfortunate. And, look at our mourning ceremonies, weddings, and celebrations. … (We) have not been successful on the issue of cultural revolution. … These universities have not been accountable to the establishment and we have to pay attention to this.”
Iran: Mullahs issue religious decrees in opposition to traditional Fire Festival celebrations
The Iranian regime has issued fatwas or religious decrees against the traditional annual celebrations known as (Chaharshanbeh Suri) or Fire festival, which takes place on the last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar year (March 16, 2010). The regime declared the celebrations to be against Sharia law and akin to “superstition” while calling on Iranians to refrain from participating in it. The state-run Mehr news agency reported from Qom that mullah Jafar Sobhani has described the Fire Festival as an example of false traditions. “Leaping over a bonfire and saying some words … is not at all appropriate,” he said, referring to the specific Fire Festival tradition that includes people going into the streets and alleys to make fires, and jump over them while singing special song: Your fiery red color is mine, and my sickly yellow paleness is yours.
Sobhani warned Iranians “not to become subject to matters that run counter to Sharia law and wisdom.” The Fire Festival has been held across Iran every year in anticipation of the New Year, but it has also taken a political dimension because people use it as an opportunity to express their anger and opposition to the ruling dictatorship while burning posters and pictures of the regime’s leaders. Another mullah in Qom was also quoted by the same news agency as saying that the rites and actions performed during the Fire Festival in Iran are not in line with religious guidelines. Fazel Lankarani added: “The issue of the Fire Festival is a superstition and baseless. Some of the actions performed during that day are not in line with religious guidelines and … are examples of actions which are contrary to Sharia.”
Sunday, March 07, 2010
NEWS))))))
Germany doesn’t want Iranian regime in UN human rights body
Association Press reported on March 3rd that Germany’s foreign minister says countries should vote against Iran when it seeks a seat later this year on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Guido Westerwelle says having Iran in the 47-nation body would be an 'affront' to human rights. Westerwelle told the council Wednesday that Iran was undeserving because it has violated many of its citizens’ human rights, including during a postelection crackdown on protesters last year. Iran is expected to run for a seat when countries vote for new members in May. Iranian regime was heavily criticized last month at the council’s first review of how it upholds human rights.
Amnesty International: Iraqi forces continue to make life difficult for Camp Ashraf residents
The latest report by Amnesty International regarding the situation of human rights in Iraq says: 'On 28 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, home to about 3,500 Iranian refugees and detained 36 residents. The 36 were subsequently reported to have been tortured, including by being beaten with batons and guns. Several people needed medical treatment for their injuries.' 'The Iraqi government has continued to threaten Iranian refugees living in Camp Ashraf with forcible removal from the camp. On 28 July Iraqi security forces raided and took over the camp, in Diyala Governorate, which houses some 3400 members or supporters of the People’s Mojahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), an Iranian opposition group. 'The camp had been under US military control since 2003 until the SOFA agreement came into force at the beginning of 2009. In video footage filmed at the time, Iraqi forces could be seen deliberately driving military vehicles into crowds of unarmed protesting camp residents. Further, live ammunition was used resulting in at least nine residents being shot dead. The 36 remained held in al-Khalis police station, also in Diyala, although an investigative judge ordered their release. They were moved to Baghdad and only released in October after international protests. ‘The Iraqi government reportedly wanted to move Camp Ashraf residents to another camp in southern Iraq and gave the residents an ultimatum to move by 15 December 2009 or they would be moved by force. However, by late February 2010 no forced removal had taken place, although Iraqi security forces continue to make life difficult for the residents.
Iranian regime prepares forces to wage sectarian war in Iraq in case of nationalists’s victory
Natioanl Council of Resistance of Iran in its statement dated March 6, said: “Just ahead of the Iraqi elections, Iranian regime has heightened efforts to influence the election results by widespread rigging and has increased its plot against nationalist and independent figures and movements to unprecedented levels. These actions take place in fear of increasing isolation of its affiliated groups and in response to immense support for independent and nationalist movements that oppose mullahs’ regime domination in Iraq.”
NCRI added: “On one hand the Iranina regime has assigned Qods Force’s special groups to assassinate Iraqi figures who oppose Iranian regime while on the other hand they have prepared their affiliated forces to wage a sectarian war, in case of victory by the Iraqi alternative.
Assessments by Iranian regime’s Supreme National Security Council, as well as reports that are reviewed regularly by Khamanei, indicate that if the election take its natural route, there will be a great chance of victory by nationalist and independent movements resulting in the loss of hegemony by regime and its affiliated parties in Iraq. The reports are prepared by Iranian regime’s Qods Force, Embassy in Baghdad, special Iraqi affairs headquarters and their manufactured political parties in Iraq. According to NCRI, "Khamanei and the regime’s Supreme National Security Council have assigned Ghasem Soleimani, head of the Qods Forces, to execute a specific plan to eliminate nationalist and independent Iraqi figures. According to a report that reached Qods Force on 3 March, 2010, about 400 operations in Baghdad and other cities have been executed by special groups during the past 25 days."
******
Monday, March 8 is the International Women’s Day. Although women celebrate their achievement in political, social, economic arena, in many countries including Iran, more than 100 years since the first protest on March 8 1907, women are struggling for their basic rights. They don’t have the rights of assembly, the rights to keep their children after a divorce, the rights of freedom of speech and thoughts,... For the women of Iran in particular it’s crime to get involve in an anti government rally, after enduring imprisonment, torture and rape, lies the execution. But what is certain is that the Iranian women are hopeful and won’t back down. As Neda Agha sultan said to her family before she was killed on the street of Tehran last summer, even if a bullet rips my heart, I will continue to protests. And that is what the dictatorship in Iran is afraid of. No matter what, women will shout louder and louder for their rights. To celebrate this important day and to protest the women’s condition in Iran, Miss Aram Bayat and her KHORSHID KHANOOM Dance Group has Invited all WOMEN & MEN to gather and Dance in Front of the Iranian regime’s Embassy @ 245 Metcalfe Street in Ottawa from 1 to 3 pm. You are encouraged to wear your beautiful and colourful costume. Miss Bayat told Irava in an interview which was broadcasted in our Persian segment today that she is not organizing a concert like event just for people's enjoyment, but it is a way to show how women’s rights is being violated in Iran for the past 31 years. Here is a part of the dance in front of the Iranian regime's embassy in Ottawa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB7w3pYfEIQ
Happy international women's day
Germany doesn’t want Iranian regime in UN human rights body
Association Press reported on March 3rd that Germany’s foreign minister says countries should vote against Iran when it seeks a seat later this year on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Guido Westerwelle says having Iran in the 47-nation body would be an 'affront' to human rights. Westerwelle told the council Wednesday that Iran was undeserving because it has violated many of its citizens’ human rights, including during a postelection crackdown on protesters last year. Iran is expected to run for a seat when countries vote for new members in May. Iranian regime was heavily criticized last month at the council’s first review of how it upholds human rights.
Amnesty International: Iraqi forces continue to make life difficult for Camp Ashraf residents
The latest report by Amnesty International regarding the situation of human rights in Iraq says: 'On 28 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad, home to about 3,500 Iranian refugees and detained 36 residents. The 36 were subsequently reported to have been tortured, including by being beaten with batons and guns. Several people needed medical treatment for their injuries.' 'The Iraqi government has continued to threaten Iranian refugees living in Camp Ashraf with forcible removal from the camp. On 28 July Iraqi security forces raided and took over the camp, in Diyala Governorate, which houses some 3400 members or supporters of the People’s Mojahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI), an Iranian opposition group. 'The camp had been under US military control since 2003 until the SOFA agreement came into force at the beginning of 2009. In video footage filmed at the time, Iraqi forces could be seen deliberately driving military vehicles into crowds of unarmed protesting camp residents. Further, live ammunition was used resulting in at least nine residents being shot dead. The 36 remained held in al-Khalis police station, also in Diyala, although an investigative judge ordered their release. They were moved to Baghdad and only released in October after international protests. ‘The Iraqi government reportedly wanted to move Camp Ashraf residents to another camp in southern Iraq and gave the residents an ultimatum to move by 15 December 2009 or they would be moved by force. However, by late February 2010 no forced removal had taken place, although Iraqi security forces continue to make life difficult for the residents.
Iranian regime prepares forces to wage sectarian war in Iraq in case of nationalists’s victory
Natioanl Council of Resistance of Iran in its statement dated March 6, said: “Just ahead of the Iraqi elections, Iranian regime has heightened efforts to influence the election results by widespread rigging and has increased its plot against nationalist and independent figures and movements to unprecedented levels. These actions take place in fear of increasing isolation of its affiliated groups and in response to immense support for independent and nationalist movements that oppose mullahs’ regime domination in Iraq.”
NCRI added: “On one hand the Iranina regime has assigned Qods Force’s special groups to assassinate Iraqi figures who oppose Iranian regime while on the other hand they have prepared their affiliated forces to wage a sectarian war, in case of victory by the Iraqi alternative.
Assessments by Iranian regime’s Supreme National Security Council, as well as reports that are reviewed regularly by Khamanei, indicate that if the election take its natural route, there will be a great chance of victory by nationalist and independent movements resulting in the loss of hegemony by regime and its affiliated parties in Iraq. The reports are prepared by Iranian regime’s Qods Force, Embassy in Baghdad, special Iraqi affairs headquarters and their manufactured political parties in Iraq. According to NCRI, "Khamanei and the regime’s Supreme National Security Council have assigned Ghasem Soleimani, head of the Qods Forces, to execute a specific plan to eliminate nationalist and independent Iraqi figures. According to a report that reached Qods Force on 3 March, 2010, about 400 operations in Baghdad and other cities have been executed by special groups during the past 25 days."
******
Monday, March 8 is the International Women’s Day. Although women celebrate their achievement in political, social, economic arena, in many countries including Iran, more than 100 years since the first protest on March 8 1907, women are struggling for their basic rights. They don’t have the rights of assembly, the rights to keep their children after a divorce, the rights of freedom of speech and thoughts,... For the women of Iran in particular it’s crime to get involve in an anti government rally, after enduring imprisonment, torture and rape, lies the execution. But what is certain is that the Iranian women are hopeful and won’t back down. As Neda Agha sultan said to her family before she was killed on the street of Tehran last summer, even if a bullet rips my heart, I will continue to protests. And that is what the dictatorship in Iran is afraid of. No matter what, women will shout louder and louder for their rights. To celebrate this important day and to protest the women’s condition in Iran, Miss Aram Bayat and her KHORSHID KHANOOM Dance Group has Invited all WOMEN & MEN to gather and Dance in Front of the Iranian regime’s Embassy @ 245 Metcalfe Street in Ottawa from 1 to 3 pm. You are encouraged to wear your beautiful and colourful costume. Miss Bayat told Irava in an interview which was broadcasted in our Persian segment today that she is not organizing a concert like event just for people's enjoyment, but it is a way to show how women’s rights is being violated in Iran for the past 31 years. Here is a part of the dance in front of the Iranian regime's embassy in Ottawa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB7w3pYfEIQ
Happy international women's day
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