The
following was written by 8 March Women's Organisation
(Iran-Afghanistan) (www.8mars.com zan_dem_iran@hotmail.com
https://facebook.com/8Mars.org).
Another 8 March, International Women's Day, is on the
way. This day commemorates the heroic struggle of women textile workers in New
York that inspired the organised struggle of women worldwide. 8 March
also reminds us of the memorable struggle and resistance of Iranian women on 8 March
1979 against the compulsory wearing of the hijab after the Islamists seized
power and established the anti-woman Islamic Republic. On 8 March
we also remember all those women who struggled against the brutal regime and
continued their fight at home, in the streets, universities, schools, prisons
and elsewhere against the patriarchal system and its subjugation of women and
all its anti-women policies.
Women's struggle on a world scale has been a source of
inspiration for us and all those determined to fight and eradicate the
oppression and subjugation of women. There is no doubt that we have a tough and
tortuous path in front of us. But the situation and conditions of millions of
women in Iran and the region and the world is such that we can no longer
tolerate such insulting and contemptible treatment.
We are approaching 8 March at a time
when women in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria face unimaginable pressure
because of imperialist invasions and occupations on the one hand, and the rise
of Islamic fundamentalists on the other. The warmongering and brutal
occupations by imperialist powers seeking to control the region under different
pretexts, and the rise of Islamist forces who are competing with each other in
backwardness, has imposed an even harsher situation on women in this region.
The furious face of women in this region is a loud
statement that it is no longer possible for women to tolerate this situation
and it is no longer acceptable to remain indifferent. A revolutionary and
organised struggle to put an end to patriarchal religious fundamentalism and
imperialism is a desperate necessity.
The situation for women in Afghanistan has not
improved under the country's occupation by the imperialist powers. In fact,
they are now brutally oppressed by two fundamentalist forces, the
imperialist-appointed regime and the Taliban opposition.
With the occupation of Iraq and the war in Syria that
lead to the seizure of power by the Islamic State (Daesh), women in the region
and in particular Yazidi women have been forced to become sex slaves and are
traded. Millions of women in Iraq and Syria are deprived of all their basic and
human rights and are continuously threatened with rape and violence, whether
they are still living in their home villages and towns or forced to become
refugees in the mountains under horrible conditions.
We are approaching 8 March this year in a situation
where women in the so-called advanced capitalist countries are suffering from
oppression. Their bodies and lives are under the control of male supremacy in
various ways. Even though women in the Western countries are considered equal
under law, discrimination against women in different forms and in a broad way
exists and a male chauvinist system is reproduced continuously. Violence
against women in forms such as rape and domestic violence is widespread. The
right to abortion is limited in various countries. The situation in these
countries has given rise to many forms of protest against the degradation of
women.
Women’s bodies in these countries are a form of
commodity, and in this way they are owned or controlled and traded. Every year
thousands of young and teenage girls from the lower and deprived classes of
these countries and also from third world countries or Eastern Europe are lured
and imported into the sex market by human traffickers, so they can work as sex
slaves in the brothels of the modern Western countries or the pornography
"industry". In this way the degradation and brutal oppression of
women is ensured, of course in a "modern way", and billions of
dollars go into the pockets of the monarchs of capital.
The situation of women all over the world shows that
they are either covered up by a burqa as the property of a man, or their bodies
become a commodity to be controlled or traded in the market. In both cases they
are downgraded and humiliated, vulnerable to the violence of patriarchy and the
male chauvinist system. The system is the same and the oppression of women is
the same and there is no way around that. The oppression of women by Islamic
fundamentalists such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Taliban and Daesh
might be performed in its most brutal form, but the liberation of women cannot
be achieved within the male supremacist capitalist system because this system
itself is the main cause and source of escalation of the degradation of women
on a world scale.
As 8 March approaches this year the Islamic Republic
of Iran has launched an extensive anti-women campaign. More than just a
series of oppressive policies, with its different parts and components this
campaign is a systematic assault meant to lower the position of women in
society even more, produce a reactionary example for the treatment of women in
the region, and allow the regime to compete with other backward and anti-women
forces in the region such as Daesh.
The regime's project for the family and increasing the
population, called a plan for "comprehensive population policies" to
promote "excellence of the family" and the "Islamic
family", includes restricting access to contraception. This would further
limit women's participation in society. Even women who have managed to enter
the social sphere despite mountains of restrictions, limitations and gender
discrimination will be forced to go back to their kitchens and bedrooms. This
overall plan has led to various laws that cut back all the facilities and
budgets for preventing unwanted pregnancy. Further, any move from women to
control their own bodies and lives will be considered illegal, punishable by
imprisonment and whipping.
Speeches by the military heads of this project seem to
indicate that the regime is aiming to prepare itself for a military showdown in
the region and ensure a massive military force, i.e., cannon fodder, for
possible future developments by increasing the population. In this way the
regime wants to strengthen its ability to influence the balance of power in the
region. It is looking for a chance to become a player in the games run by the
imperialist powers as they form blocs with the aim of controlling the region
and the world.
This assault on women is also evident in other projects
and bills, such as the "law to protect privacy, modesty and hijab",
and measures such as reducing the number of women employees, encouraging
employed women to retire early, restricting education for women, and limiting
women's rights to seek a divorce, open a bank account for their children and
travel.
This proposed law and another called "for the
promotion of virtue and prevention of vice" not only give power to the men
in the family but also allow any regime forces and in fact any backward, anti-woman
element to control the behaviour and the kind of clothing and cover of any
woman – to police women.
In relation to this, the regime has also organised its
thugs, in addition to its security forces, to impose the different aspects of
its assault on women.
The series of incidents in which acid was thrown into
women's faces in the last few months, in cities such as Isfahan, Tehran, Shiraz
and Tabriz, was part of that assault. Despite the regime's denial, it was a
continuation of its anti-women policies and one of the forms of carrying out
its "promotion of virtue and prevention of vice". It is worth
mentioning that the protest of women and men, in Isfahan in particular, and
also the people's angry reaction in opposition to these acid attacks, to some extent
exposed the regime's role and its aims.
The execution of Reyhaneh Jabari last November was
also part of the present regime's assaults on women. The young woman was
executed because she had dared to defend herself against a rapist who was an
intelligence officer. The regime filed a fake case against Reyhaneh and hung
her as a warning that other young women who dare to defend themselves against a
rapist or the regime's thugs will be punished brutally.
Behind the recent savage assault against women the
weakness of the regime is evident too. The rebellious and defiant spirit of
young people over the years has prevented the Islamic regime from fully
carrying out its policies against women. Women's contempt is a sign of defeat
for the regime. The Islamic Republic's desperation has played an important role
in the recent campaign. The regime's demoralization is an important advantage
for the people and especially for women to organise themselves and stand up
against this reactionary assault.
The reality is that the war against women the Islamic
Republic launched after its seizure of power in 1979 has not ended yet. The
current all-rounded assault to intensify the degradation of women is a campaign
in that war. Despite all its military and political might, the Islamic Republic
has real weaknesses. Its views and thinking belong to long gone centuries. Its
existence is tied up with oppression and exploitation. Because of its
reactionary nature, it has to rely on force and ruthlessness.
In contrast, women have no
political and military power but they are dynamic, motivated and determined to
achieve their liberation. Their struggle against oppression is courageous and
inspiring. Only the broadening of the organised revolutionary struggle of women
and the broad masses of people can achieve victory and put an end to the savage
assaults of this anti-people regime. Only through an organised and persistent
struggle with a clear perspective of a society without oppression and
exploitation can we move ahead in the direction of overthrowing the Islamic
Republic and imperialist male supremacy. Without that struggle and that
perspective, the patriarchal system will continue to be reproduced.
Pix by thecahokian.blogspot.com.
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