Last December, 55 ladies leaders from throughout the Middle East, together with representatives from Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Jewish communities from 12 international locations, publicly condemned Hamas and its supporters, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The open letter, led by Iranian and Israeli ladies’s rights teams, drew assist from a variety of ladies in international locations together with Iran, Iraq, Israel, Bahrain, Syria, Afghanistan, Lebanon, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco. Palestinian territory.
Among the supporters are human rights defender Lisa Daftari, former president of the Bahrain Journalists Association Adeya Ahmed Al-Sayed, quite a lot of ladies beforehand imprisoned within the Islamic Republic of Iran, and former Miss Iraq. This contains key figures within the struggle for ladies’s rights, akin to Sarah Idan of , former Israeli MPs Gadia Mouret and Ruth Wasserman Rand, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fuller Hassan Nahum, Belgian MP Dariya Safaei and Canadian MP Goldie Ghamari, amongst others. Includes members of Congress.
listening to their tales
On the event of International Women’s Day, The Jerusalem Post contacted two of the signatories to listen to their experiences and views on the present state of affairs. Protests in opposition to the sexual violence dedicated within the October 7 bloodbath and the worldwide silence that adopted befell in entrance of the United Nations headquarters in New York City earlier this month. (Credit: Yaakov Binyamin/FLASH 90)
emily schrader
Emily Schrader, a US-born journalist, human rights activist, and one of many letter’s essential initiators, made aliyah to Israel 10 years in the past. “I wished to make this assertion that brings collectively Israeli and Iranian ladies as a result of from my work within the human rights subject, I’ve realized that, going again to the time of Cyrus the Great, we’ve got strikingly comparable values and even a historical past. Because I do know that,” she added.
“While our preliminary objective was to contain Israelis and Iranians, we’ve got spoken to extra ladies leaders within the Middle East who denounce the unfavourable results of Islamist terrorism and wish to be a part of this name. We discovered that there have been dozens of Arab ladies as effectively, particularly with regard to terrorism within the Islamic Republic of Iran and the way it’s hurting all the area.”
The function of the letter, Schroeder stated, is that the battle within the Middle East “shouldn’t be between Arabs and Jews, however fairly between violent extremist teams such because the Islamic Republic and its proxies; The purpose is to point out the world that the world is searching for peace and safety. ” According to Schröder, the targets had been leaders of democracies, primarily as a result of the Islamic Republic couldn’t be held accountable for crimes in opposition to humanity that harmed ladies throughout the area. It is.
To this finish, Palestinian, Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Emirati, Bahraini and Iraqi ladies have signed an open letter specializing in a standard future for all peoples within the area, she stated. explains. “Together, we are able to struggle the forces that search to destroy civilization on either side,” Schroeder added.
Schroeder added that he has acquired nothing however optimistic suggestions. “In truth, there are extra ladies wanting so as to add to the listing than I can sustain with! I’ve acquired ‘thanks’ messages from everywhere in the Middle East, together with individuals who aren’t large followers of the state of Israel.”
Schroeder added that she anticipated some backlash from the battle, however surprisingly, many ladies within the area agreed in regards to the menace to the area’s widespread future. When requested in regards to the latest state of ladies’s rights within the Middle East, Schroeder elaborated: While some international locations have made nice strides towards ladies’s equality within the Middle East, “in locations like Iran, the place the regime has adopted a coverage of gender apartheid for the previous 45 years, ladies’s rights have been severely regressed.” I’ve seen it occur.”
Schroeder additionally believes there’s a “large downside throughout the Middle East, together with Israel, with culturally mounted attitudes and expectations in direction of ladies,” including that she is “reaching a spot the place Middle Eastern males and boys are educated.” Until then,” he claims. “Seeing ladies as equal companions with ambition. We will tackle the problem of ladies’s inequality,” he stated, additionally criticizing Israel’s safety system and political circles, which severely underrepresent ladies. .
Schroeder added: “If you might be studying this within the Western world, I’d urge democratic leaders to take a zero-tolerance strategy to the Islamic Republic, as a result of it poses a severe menace to ladies and kids within the area. The Iranian regime’s terrorist plans aren’t restricted to the Middle East. It’s going to develop, and we’re already seeing these initiatives beginning in different international locations. Women’s rights are underneath assault by extremists, and each girl and each individual of conscience world wide wants to face with us in opposition to the forces that search to take us again 1000’s of years. there may be. We is not going to settle for this and we is not going to go away quietly,” she concluded.
Elahe Jamali
Born and raised in Isfahan till the age of 13, Elaheh Jamali, also referred to as Lily Mu, is an Iranian-British human rights and ladies’s rights activist who fled to the UK together with her household as political refugees in 2000. “This was proper after the huge student-led rebellion in Iran, and although I used to be a younger lady, I keep in mind her household being politically lively on many fronts,” Jamali stated. appears again.
With the rise of the Green Movement that challenged the Islamic Republic’s election outcomes beginning in 2009, Jamali discovered herself turning into an activist for Iran and Iranian ladies in exile. “We thought we would have an opportunity to overthrow the federal government. Unfortunately it did not occur, however there may be an upside. The ‘reforms’ everybody was speaking about had been by no means full,” he says. “The adjustments will in all probability solely be beauty,” she added.
Jamali remained lively on the Iranian difficulty, to a lesser extent, till September 2022, when Mahsa Amini was brutally murdered by the so-called “morality police.”
“Like everybody else, I made a decision to take to the streets. I proceed to boost consciousness in regards to the violations of ladies’s rights and human rights by the Islamic Republic, assembly with UK and EU MPs and organizing rallies. I-I wrote a letter…” Jamali pauses. “And by the anniversary of Amini’s homicide, I felt disillusioned with the Biden administration, which determined handy over $6 billion in beforehand blocked funds to the Islamic Republic. It gave me a number of confidence in my legitimacy,” she explains. In this context, Jamali has additionally expressed her anger on the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic achievements, akin to her election as chair of the UN Human Rights Council and even the Nuclear Disarmament Commission.
“When I used to be approached with this letter, it appeared solely pure and really acceptable for me to hitch and signal it and to specific my assist. I consider in phrases and extra,” Jamali explains. “This highlights human rights violations by the Islamic Republic, and we are able to witness it even in its proxies. There is baby marriage in Gaza and Lebanon, and within the Islamic Republic a method of deepening the “revolution” It overtly encourages the “export” of Iranian ladies as proxies by means of “shigeh” (momentary marriage).
“They see ladies as property, and this is identical guise wherein they noticed Israeli ladies within the October 7 assault,” she added. “This assault was financed and facilitated by the Islamic Republic with funds from the Iranian individuals, however the funds had been utilized by proxies. Therefore, comparable acts of sexual violence aren’t restricted to Hamas, however are a part of the Iranian insurgency. It is no surprise that this was additionally carried out in the course of the crackdown on
Jamali stated the letter acquired blended reactions, with some praising her and others accusing her of being an Israeli spy for Mossad. “I select to nonetheless maintain out hope. Prince Reza Pahlavi stated, “We are solely as sturdy because the weakest hyperlink in our chain,” so we’re sturdy We have to carry on tight, attain out to like-minded individuals, and never get distracted from the individuals who carry one thing to bear once we are down.
“Iran’s present nationwide revolution is led by ladies and absolutely supported by males,” Jamali added. She additionally stated that whereas 1000’s of ladies are in jail in Iran, following the instance set by Iran’s ladies’s liberation course of led by Reza Shah Pahlavi, “fashionable Iranian males ought to assist ladies. It’s hardwired into our DNA.”
“There are presently 1000’s of younger Iranian males in Iranian prisons who’re protesting the Islamic Republic and the gender apartheid it imposes, calling for justice and regime change, and calling for “ladies, life, freedom.” They are united underneath the slogan.
Women pressured into hiding in Iran
Jamari stated that when she lived in Iran, Iranian ladies had been celebrated in her mom’s time, whereas in our lifetime Iranian ladies had been pressured into hiding. Reminisce about what occurred. She stated, “My mom is a large supply of inspiration and assist for me. She raised us to be lifelong champions of ladies’s rights. We fell in love with it and by no means stopped. .
During the years we lived underneath a totalitarian brainwashing regime, my mom made positive to take a seat down with us day by day and dismantle all of the unhealthy beliefs we had been pressured to soak up. It helped me purify it.
“Other sources of inspiration for me are all the ladies who signed this letter, and all the ladies who’re in jail in Iran and preventing for the nation: Fatemeh Sepehri, Nasreen Shakarami, and Of course, Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi, the Queen and Empress of Iran.”
The best enemy of the Iranian individuals is the Islamic Republic, the best enemy of the Israeli individuals.
My message to ladies is to pay attention to one another, be sturdy, kind a powerful chain, keep united and struggle for freedom. I hope that International Women’s Day can be a day to rejoice achievements fairly than lament difficulties. Take the hostages house too! ”