Justice for Iran

“This Is Not a Film is not a film because its director is not a director. In December 2010, Jafar Panahi of Iran was sentenced to six years in prison and banned for 20 years from making movies. His crime was “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” He was a supporter of the enormous crowds that filled the streets of Tehran to protest the suspicious re-election of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Panahi, who is on camera almost constantly in “This Is Not a Film,” has a trustworthy face. He seems kind and philosophical — especially on this particular day, when he is awaiting a judge’s ruling on his appeal. Alone in a spacious high-rise apartment, except for his daughter’s pet iguana Igi, he has some flatbread and jam for his breakfast, calls his lawyer, is told Iranian judges almost never overturn sentences, but he might hope for a “discount” of the 20 years.

What comes next is an extraordinary act of courage. He has been filming himself, and now calls his friend Mojtaba Mirtahmasb to come over and join him. He’s not sure what to do. Forbidden to even say “action” or “cut,” Panahi wanders about the apartment, feeds the iguana, begins to describe the most recent screenplay he was forbidden permission to film, and comments on the DVDs of three of his films: “The White Balloon” (1995), “The Circle” (2000), and “Crimson Gold” (2003). 

This man, who has been silenced, now finds things in the films he did not plan. In the first, the little girl who is playing his heroine, gets fed up with the process, tears off the cast she’s wearing for the scene and stalks out of camera range. “I’m not acting anymore!” she announces. The second is a drama about the difficulties of a group of women who attempt to move about the city without male companions (chaperones?). The third is about a large, stolid man who loses patience with himself. The actor is in fact schizophrenic (which the film doesn’t mention). He cannot take direction, but spontaneously he makes a gesture with his hands that expresses enormous frustration.

I’ve seen these films, and they are very good. They’ve won awards at many major festivals: Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and so on. I realize my description doesn’t begin to evoke the experience for you. That is precisely Panahi’s point. He demonstrates it in an agonizing scene where he begins to tell his friend the story of his banned film and uses tape on the carpet to mark out the floor plan of his heroine’s room. (She has been accepted by a university but forbidden by her father to attend, and locked in her room). He grows frustrated and tears up the tape.

Things happen. Carry-out food arrives. A neighbor drops off her dog for Panahi to watch, but the dog freaks out at the sight of the iguana. He watches the news on TV. It is Fireworks Wednesday, the Persian New Year’s, and in the evening, the city by tradition will be crowned by fireworks. Ahmadinejad has banned fireworks, murmuring darkly that they are in violation of Islamic law. The film never says the Islamic Republic shows great insecurity in the face of anything it doesn’t control. It doesn’t have to. I would like to show “This Is Not a Film” to those in the United States who are in favor of a close union of church and state.

There is nothing remotely political in Panahi’s films. But they can be read as parables. That is how Iranian directors must work these days. Even a domestic drama like last year’s Oscar-winning “A Separation” can be read in more than one way. And when religious fundamentalists are doing the interpretation, what chance does the human spirit have?

Little by little, detail by detail, “This Is Not a Film” leads to a final scene of overwhelming power. I don’t think it was even planned — no more than Panahi expected the little actress to take the cast off her arm. It simply happens, and then the film is over, having nothing more to say. Because, after all, it is not a film.”

“I hope that in the countries where people have risen against dictatorships, they will reflect on and learn from what happened to us in Iran.

I do not agree with the phrase “Arab Spring.” The overthrow of dictatorships is not sufficient in itself. Only when repressive governments are replaced by democracies can we consider the popular uprisings in the Middle East to be a meaningful “spring.”

Since women make up half of the region’s population, any democratic developments must improve the social and legal status of women in the Arab world. It appears the Tunisian society has strong civil institutions, and there is much hope that democracy can take hold there. But in Egypt, many political actors are talking about returning to Islamic law, which could result in a regression of rights for women and girls similar to what we experienced in Iran in 1979.

There are interpretations of Shariah law that allow one to be a Muslim and enjoy equal gender rights—rights that we can exercise while participating in a genuinely democratic political system. Shariah law and women’s rights do not have to be mutually exclusive. Although the 1979 revolution in Iran is often called an Islamic revolution, it can actually be said to be a revolution of men against women. Before the revolution, women’s rights were recognized to some extent. But the revolution led to the enactment of numerous discriminatory laws against women.

After the revolution—even before drafting a new constitution or establishing parliament—the revolutionary councils changed the laws. When I first read the Islamic Penal Code instituted after the revolution, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The drafters of this document had effectively taken us back 1,400 years.

Before the revolution, I was a presiding judge. When the revolution broke out, I was initially on the side of the revolutionaries and I believed in their cause. I was shocked when the revolutionaries decided that women could no longer hold my position. I was demoted to secretary—while many of my male colleagues who were not as professionally qualified were appointed judges. In the “green movement” protests after June 2009’s disputed presidential elections, the world witnessed how many Iranian women were on the streets, and how strong our feminist movement is. More than 65% of university students are women, many university professors are women, and women are present in all important and sensitive social positions.

However, the law that is being enforced in Iran today does not consider women to be full human beings. Instead, it ascribes to women a value half that of a man. The testimony of two women in court equals the testimony of one man, for example. A man can marry four wives and can divorce his wife at will, but initiating divorce can be very difficult for a woman. A married woman even needs her husband’s written consent to travel.

These discriminatory and misogynistic laws are not Islamic and cannot be found in the Quran. Iranian women from all walks of life oppose these laws—which is one reason why women are in the front lines of every protest.

Many Iranian religious authorities are against these laws. Yet the fundamentalists in power, because they belong to a patriarchal culture, insist on enforcing them. Iranian women are doubly oppressed, both by discriminatory laws and by unjust traditions.

The world was horrified by the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for allegedly committing adultery. Sadly, there are many similar cases that people outside Iran do not even know about. For 25 years, I have lent my voice to campaigns by women’s rights advocates, lawyers and other activists seeking to ban corporal punishments such as stoning, flogging or cutting off hands.

Education is one key to the future of women around the world. They must become aware of their rights. Education was a centerpiece of the “One Million Signatures” campaign, which we began in 2006 with the aim of ending gender discrimination in Iran. The campaign was like a small stone thrown in a still pond—it created many waves.

Another key to ending discrimination against women in Iran is using all the legal tools at our disposal, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory. The international community can play an important role in urging Iran to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Iran is one of only six countries that have not yet ratified this crucial convention.

I have paid a high personal price for my involvement in the struggle for human rights in Iran and women’s rights in particular. I have been living in forced exile since June 2009. My husband is still in Iran, where he has been imprisoned and tortured to force him to speak out against me. My sister has also been imprisoned, and other family members are regularly harassed and threatened.

Just this month, my longtime colleague, the courageous lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, was unjustly sentenced to 18 years in prison.

I hope that in the Arab countries where people have risen against dictatorships and overthrown them, they will reflect and learn from what happened to us in Iran. My recommendation to Arab women is to focus on strengthening civil-society institutions and to familiarize themselves with religious discourse, so they can demonstrate that leaders who rely on religious dogma that sets women’s rights back are doing so to consolidate power.

The true “Arab Spring” will dawn only when democracy takes root in countries that have ousted their dictatorships, and when women in those countries are allowed to take part in civic life.”

Ms. Ebadi, one of Iran’s leading lawyers and human rights activists, won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. This essay is adapted from her chapter in the new Human Rights Watch book, “The Unfinished Revolution: Voices From the Global Fight for Women’s Rights” (edited by Minky Worden, Seven Stories Press, 2012).

“For those working for the BBC Persian service, interference and harassment from the Iranian authorities has become a challenging fact of life.

I am hugely proud of how they deal with that relentless pressure, and their unswerving commitment to delivering high quality, impartial journalism.

They arguably have the most difficult jobs in the BBC. They carry them out with unstinting dedication and in the knowledge that their work makes a critical difference to the lives of millions who crave access to free and accurate information, in a part of the world where it is scarce and extremely precious.

In recent months, we have witnessed increased levels of intimidation alongside disturbing new tactics. This includes an attempt to put pressure on those who work for BBC Persian outside Iran, by targeting family members who still live inside the country.

We remain extremely concerned about these actions by the Iranian authorities and the latest case only serves to underline this.

Last week the sister of a BBC Persian member of staff was arrested. She was detained and held in solitary confinement on unspecified charges at Evin Prison in Tehran. Although she has now been released on bail, her treatment was utterly deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

It is just the latest in a campaign of bullying and harrassment by the Iranian authorities, putting pressure on the BBC for the impartial and balanced coverage of events in Iran and the wider region.

It follows the repeated jamming of international TV stations such as BBC Persian TV, preventing the Iranian people from accessing a vital source of free information.

In recent months a number of relatives of members of BBC Persian staff have been detained for short periods of time by the Iranian authorities and urged to get their relatives in London to either stop working for the BBC, or to “co-operate” with Iranian intelligence officials.

In other instances, passports of family members have been confiscated, preventing them from leaving Iran. This has left many BBC Persian staff too afraid to return to the country, even to visit sick or elderly relatives. Some have had their Facebook and email accounts hacked.

In addition, there has been a consistent stream of false and slanderous accusations against BBC Persian staff in the official Iranian media, ranging from allegations of serious sexual assault, drug trafficking, and criminal financial behaviour.

It has also included claims that staff have converted from Islam to Christianity or Baha’ism - potentially a capital offence in Iran as it is considered to be apostasy. This has put our staff, who in most cases left their families behind to come to London and work for the BBC, under immense pressure.

This issue is wider than the BBC - other international media face similar challenges. But it is behaviour that all people who believe in free and independent media should be deeply concerned about.

The BBC calls on the Iranian government to repudiate the actions of its officials.

We also ask governments and international regulatory bodies to put maximum pressure on Iran to desist in this campaign of intimidation, persistent censorship and a disturbing abuse of power.

Mark Thompson is BBC director general.”

The arrests of the journalists and bloggers, including two prominent women whose blog posts are widely read in Iran, have not been reported by the official news media. […]

Friends of the two arrested women, Parastou Dokouhaki and Marzieh Rasouli, have started a Web site to publicize their situation. Ms. Dokouhaki, a rights activist whose blog, Written by a Woman, attracted a wide following, has been held in Evin Prison in Tehran since Jan. 15, when agents raided her home and confiscated her laptop computer and other items. […]

A third journalist, Sahamoddin Bouraghani, who was the national press director for the Ministry of Culture during the tenure of a former president, the reformist Mohammad Khatami, was arrested Jan. 17 as well, rights activists said.

At least three more journalists were arrested the previous week, activists said, including Fatemeh Kheradmand, a freelance health and social reporter; Ehsan Houshmandzadeh, an ethnic researcher; and Said Madani, a former university professor who edited Social Welfare, a quarterly journal. The Committee to Project Journalists, a New York-based advocacy group that has called Iran one of the most repressive countries for press freedom, with at least 42 journalists imprisoned in 2011, said last week that it had documented the arrests of at least seven journalists there since Jan. 7.