White Torture is a book
that should be read by university students across the world. I am humbled by
the courage and resilience of Narges Mohammadi and other women in Iran who
resist the oppression and abuse of the Iranian government. When Narges
Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, I thought that the international
community would be more determined to support these women. However, the torture
and executions of innocent women by the Iranian government continue to run
unabated. Narges Mohammadi provides
details of the gender apartheid in Iran in a recent letter she wrote to Antonio Guterres, urging the United Nations to declare gender apartheid a crime against
humanity and demanding action against it.
I could not find any response from Antonio
Guterres.
White Torture contains interviews with
highly educated Iranian women who are in jail due to false, ludicrous
accusations or for merely disagreeing with an authoritarian government that
treats women as inferior beings. Practicing a religion that is different from
the one imposed by the government is also a reason for imprisonment and torture.
Reading about the ways these valiant
women were separated from their children was heartbreaking.
I could
not find Narges Mohammadi’s book at the library, so I purchased the book
myself, in solidarity with these amazing women. I will be donating it to one of
the little libraries in my town and I encourage you to do the same. It is
necessary to support the voices of these women whose lives have been suppressed
by an authoritarian regime that trashes democratic principles and gender
equality.
I am
impressed by these women’s boldness and clarity of mind despite the trauma. The way they analyze
their social context and navigate situations with dignity and integrity shakes
the heart and strengthens the spirit in ways that are difficult to describe.
(It was a very emotional experience to read the book, and it also confirmed
previous statements I made in my blog…) I was not exaggerating when I said that misogyny is legal in some countries. It is not uncommon for dissidents to be
jailed and tortured in Iran. A woman who faced various threats and insults by
an interrogator shares an anecdote. After blowing his nose on a paper towel,
her interrogator said, “Women are like this paper towel. They are to be used
and then thrown away.”
Narges Mohammadi said,
“What keeps me on my feet in this prison, while my body is bruised and wounded,
is my love for the honorable, but tormented, people of this country, and my
ideals of justice and freedom. To honor the innocent people’s blood shed
atrociously, I pledge to speak the truth, defy tyranny, and defend the
oppressed and my last breath.”
Narges Mohammadi was not allowed to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in- person because she is in prison, and we don’t
know what her medical condition is now. Her family does not know if they
will ever see her again.
The only ones protesting to support these women are in Iran, and these brave people are jailed and executed for doing so. Where is the solidarity with them?
Narges
has always been an activist for human rights and democracy in Iran. She was
born on April 21, 1972 in the city of Zanjan in a middle-class family. She
studied physics at the International Imam Khomeini University in Qazvin. After
graduating she worked as a professional engineer with the Iran Engineering
Inspection Corporation. While working as an engineer she wrote articles for
newspapers and magazines in which she expressed her concerns regarding gender
equality and democracy in Iran. Working as an engineer and writing these
articles, however, became untenable under the repressive system of the Islamic
Republic. In 2009 Narges was dismissed from her position with the Engineering
Inspection Corporation. In 2010 she was summoned to court for being a member of
the Defenders of Human Rights Center. She was later released on bail (50,000
$), but was rearrested several times after that. While in Evin Prison her
health declined.
The
book has an introduction by Shannon Woodcock which gives a relevant account of
the Islamic regime, “The Islamic regime has used legislation and physical
coercion to create a society in which women and ethnic and religious minorities
have restricted rights of movement, education and employment. Those who protest
are flogged, imprisoned and executed. The Iranian state targets and
persecutes families across generations, threatening to incarcerate and torture
political prisoners’ children--and sometimes doing so—to further push families
into total socio-economic exclusion and isolation.”
Interestingly,
her explanations provide insight into a situation that extends beyond the
borders of Iran, “White torture unveils how the Islamic Republic of Iran
demands the total annihilation of a belief in justice, and how it tortures
women for advocating human rights, for their religion or, in cases like Nazanin
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s, in order to pressure other states to negotiate with Iran.
From its very beginning, the Islamic regime has taken hostages in order to
exert pressure on the prisoner’s family and community and to terrorize society
into submission. These testimonies show that white torture inflicts deep
wounds, but also that it cannot achieve what the regime intends. The Islamic
regime cannot separate a woman from her love for her family, her fellow
citizens, or her God. This book introduces us to a group of women who
clearly speak with all their senses and their soul; they are the antidote to
white torture: they build strength, solidarity and love.”
Nayereh Tohidi highlights the essence of Narges’s
strengths as a role model. Her intentions are summarized well in these words, “In
her own way, Narges is part of the growing counterculture in Iran that stands
against the violent and ascetic culture preached by fanatic Islamist
extremists. She advocates for a life affirming culture that embraces the
pursuit of happiness, liberty and equality. Unlike the religious extremists among
the current rulers of Iran who sacralize ascetism or hypocritically pretend in
public to be ascetic, pious and strict ‘men of god’, but behave immorally in
private, Narges is among those who believe we should honestly and openly
promote beauty, happiness, non-violence and joy.”
The book reveals the experiences of women who
stand up against injustice and gender inequality in Iran. With deep
introspection the women in this book share some of their unique responses to
despair, their zest to cultivate resilience during their incarceration, to
resist when loneliness and isolation permeate every aspect of their existence.
Cruelty is used to humiliate and demoralize them. I was speechless at their
determination and grace, and I wish with all my heart that freedom and justice
will prevail in their lives. Yet the basic question in my mind is, will they
survive?
The
book is the starting point to learn more about their struggle. I read the
letter Narges Mohammadi wrote to Antonio Guterres, urging the United Nations
to consider gender apartheid a crime against humanity. In her own words,
“the government of Iran uses religion as a cloak for despotism and
authoritarian rule.” It helps them to oppress citizens. I want to share some of
the important points of her letter about gender apartheid in Iran:
1) Not adhering to the religious hijab
laws in Iran will result in up to 74 lashes for a woman and these punishments
will be further intensified with the approval of the Chastity and Veil Bill.
2) Obtaining a passport and traveling
abroad requires the legal guardian’s permission, which is exclusively in the
hands of fathers for daughters, and husbands for wives.
3) Women in Iran are denied the right to
study in certain university fields, such as aerospace engineering.
4) Testimony and witness accounts of men
in Iranian courts are considered equal to those of two women.
5) The blood money (diyah) and
inheritance for women are half that of men.
6) In Iran men are allowed to have
simultaneous marriages with up to four wives. This number is significantly
higher for engaging in temporary marriages known as “Sigheh”. Meanwhile the
punishment for a married woman having a relationship with another man is
execution.
7) Men in Iran with legal support can
easily divorce their wives if they face issues like blindness in both eyes.
However, women do not have such a right.
8) Enrollment in specialized medical
courses and dental assistantship for women in Iran is only possible with the
consent of their husbands.
9) The rate of femicides, especially the
ones attributed to honor killings, are on the rise in Iran. During the year 2023 21 percent
of the honor killings were against women under the age of 18.
You can read more details about gender apartheid in Iran by clicking on this link.
The Iranian regime is not
only oppressing women. It oppresses men as well, so those who blatantly
disregard this issue because they think it is only a problem that pertains to
women, should pay attention and understand that authoritarian regimes affect
people of all genders. Again, White Torture can be a useful resource to
introduce the subject, and university professors should be the first ones to
read it. The Iranian regime is a theocracy with clear features of fascism,
and the ways it treats those who dissent reminds me of the way Vladimir Putin
treats its own people in Russia. These countries, along with China, align
to delegitimize Western democracies across the world.
The ideology of Hamas
aligns with the ideology of the government of Iran. The goal of attacking Israel on October 7 was to cause a genocide of Jewish people but also to expand their
ideology into Israel. Like Iran, Hamas does not believe in democratic
principles. They do not support gender equality. Their goal is to destroy Israel and annihilate
Jews. I hope that Hamas will release the hostages and surrender to peaceful
negotiations. Terrorism has never accomplished anything. Terrorism triggers
wars and empowers extremist rulers.
Mother’s Day is coming up. I will be thinking
of Narges Mohammadi and her family. I will be thinking of every woman and man
in similar situations. I will be reflecting on the suffering caused by an
ideology of violence that wants to impose the idea that terrorism, vandalism
and authoritarian regimes are the solution to current problems. They are not. I
will be reflecting on the need to educate children for peace and against hate,
and about the pain of mothers who lost their children in wars, and about those
who lost their mothers. I will be thinking of the hostages in Gaza…
My Writing Life blog stands up against hate of any kind, supports
democratic principles and the freedom to read books.
Thank you for visiting My Writing Life blog: awareness, reflection, inspiration.
Here’s a list of supplementary links:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/09/middleeast/narges-mohammadi-nobel-children-intl/index.html
https://time.com/6590643/iran-executions/
https://www.context.news/socioeconomic-inclusion/should-gender-apartheid-be-an-international-crime
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/europe/iran-paris-dissidents-mime-intl/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68840881
https://ecfr.eu/article/iran-hamas-and-islamic-jihad-a-marriage-of-convenience/
