Women on front line of street protests - The National Newspaper

YOu'veprobably all seen the video by now- or heard of it at least-- of the woman shot in the chest by the militia in the Iranian protests and dying in a pool of her own blood. It is brutal, as are all images of people dying. But it as also served as a rallying cry for many of the demonstrators in Iran protesting the recent elections declaring President Ahmadinejad as the victor over Mousavi. While women in Iran do have relatively more freedom compared to women elsewehre inthe MIddle East, under the Ahmidenejad regime they still lack many fundamental rights under Iranian law-- such as a woman's testimony counting for only half as much as a man's. Can you imagine what it would be like to report a rape, which is already considered sucha secret and shameful thing, somewhere that your testimony didn't really matter? The enforcing of the dress code by the morality police is an obvious indication of the control that the government holds over society, and a constant reminder that there is a long way to go before freedom.

I don't know if the elections were rigged or what should be done about it. But, I do know that I support whoever will advance equal rights for women in Iran.

Women on front line of street protests - The National Newspaper

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