Women’s Movement: A Model for the Green Movement

          
          8/9/2010
          A Forum on Human Rights and Democ...
          Women's Movement: A Model for the
          Green Movement
          The experience of a non-violent campaign
          L i j 3 5J UUJ fi ÷
          11 June 2010 Parisa Kakaee
          Following the 2009 presidential election, many activist
          women, not all belonging to the women's movement,
          were arrested. Some unprecedented verdicts were issued
          against them and some of them are still serving time for
          their charges. It seems that the prevailing atmosphere
          facilitated the harsh treatment against the One Million
          Signature Campaign. The members who were arrested,
          like many other social groups, were falsely accused and
          went through long interrogations. Many women activists
          were forced to leave the country and this was a high price
          paid by the women's movement after the election.
          A year ago today Iran was on the verge of entering a new chapter in its history. During the days before the
          election, an ongoing dialogue among different factions about whether or not to participate in political decision
          making, and the enthusiasm and excitement in the streets and at election headquarters, particularly among
          the youth, placed Iran in a position to undergo some unexpected events.
          Different groups inside the women's movement merged together and came to an accord over some minimum
          demands as their communal requisitions, and under the name of “convergence of the women's movement to
          set forth demands in the election” entered the stage of the electoral campaign.
          Coalition members who were present at the election centers and assemblies distributed brochures and carried
          placards expressing, “we vote for the demands of women.” This approach presented a new way for women to
          participate in the electoral process and seemed somewhat unfamiliar and unexpected for those members of
          society who were targeted by these messages, to a point where at times their inquiry about the nature of this
          practice and its place in the electoral process opened the door for lengthy discussions.
          After the election results were announced, most people and social groups who were disappointed after all
          their efforts became desperate. In an attempt to compensate for their dismay and to claim their rights, they
          began to voice their protests collectively and with unprecedented unity. This was only the beginning of many
          aftershocks that went against all equations and became a reminder of the need for a newvision suitable for a
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          8/9/2010 A Forum on Human Rights and Democ...
          different setting.
          The irony was that while the demands of the social groups did not materialize and their inherent right to
          political participation was not recognized, and because women were part of the people and were campaigning
          by their side, and most importantly because of their known activities, women were among the first ones
          arrested and forced to pay a higher price.
          The question is did all these events and the high repercussions bring the women's movement closer to
          claiming its demands, or on the contrary is public awareness of the women's movement that was slowly
          gaining momentum in society now further away and the path to success now longer than before?
          Journalist and women's rights activist Asieh Amini has an answer to this question:
          “Our expectations of the issues, groups and movements must be based on reality. Before the election, social
          groups and movements, including the women's movement, had their own character and behavior and their
          interaction with society depended on the circumstances of time and place. The election disrupted all the
          political and social equations inside the country. This change was not limited to the relationship between the
          women's movement and the people, but was quite noticeable in other areas. Consequently we cannot expect
          that one social group remain unaffected by such a great event. The pattern by which the women's movement
          acted changed after the election. There was confusion among many groups and movements about howto
          maintain the usual trend of their activities. However, I believe that if we analyze this issue from different
          points of view, we may be able to draw different conclusions from what seems to be an “unpleasant event” and
          a “halt” in the process. As I witness how the role of the women's movement is becoming the subject of many
          analyses, or howthe protest movements are adopting the non-violence approach, I see an extension of the
          women's movement in society, its development and success, and not its interruption.”
          Following the 2009 presidential election, many activist women, not all belonging to the women's movement,
          were arrested. Some unprecedented verdicts were issued against them and some of them are still serving time
          for their charges. It seems that the prevailing atmosphere facilitated the harsh treatment against the One
          Million Signature Campaign. The members who were arrested, like many other social groups, were falsely
          accused and went through long interrogations. Many women activists were forced to leave the country and
          this was a high price paid by the women's movement after the election. As Asieh Amini puts it:
          “Even though the intensity of the arrests, the exodus of many citizens, the dispersion inside the country, the
          underground getaway, closure of internet sites, and the disruption of many demonstrations planned by
          women may be considered as negative, those who responded to the ensuing social movements were more than
          the one million individuals we expected in our Campaign, and this by itself is another noticeable
          accomplishment. In spite of the heavy price paid, it would be an incomplete analysis if we don't acknowledge
          that the demands of the women's movement are nowbeing pursued in our society more seriously than
          before.”
          Khadijeh Moghadam, another women's rights activist, believes that the way people stipulated a main demand
          in their protest, “where is my vote,” was something that was experienced before in the Campaign: “People,
          while not all aware of the Campaign's stipulation and function, brought up a specific and tangible demand. It
          was the unique experience of this movement that without any leadership, and quite peacefully, this demand
          became pivotal.”
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          The change of demands alter the election
          Even though the convergence of the women's movement , which included a spectrum of both secular and
          religious members, happened before the election, another section of this body, including some members of
          the One Million Signature Campaign were not in agreement with the movement's new approach. They
          believed bringing up the demands of the Campaign in a new format in order to participate in the election
          would only serve to politicize an ongoing civil movement and would disseminate the potential of its
          members.
          However, the women's coalition came to an agreement over “joining the convention to eliminate
          discrimination against women” and “changing discriminatory laws,” and announced these as the demands of
          the women's movement. The result of the election, and disregard for the votes of political and social groups
          along with that of the public, transformed the demands and changed them into a common discourse. Per Asieh
          Amini:
          “Women's demands after the election were not merely to change the laws anymore, but rather to seek
          democracy, to refrain from violence, to promulgate civil relations, to propagate civil protest and to dare say
          NO.”
          Non-violent campaign
          The major points that the One Million Signature Campaign insisted on was to find ways to establish a dialogue
          with the regime and to achieve a cultural refinement of the public. These are its similarities with the Green
          Movement, which many activists believe has been copied successfully from the women's movement. What
          happened after the election was an overt aggression by the government, while the people persisted in
          continuing the campaign without violence, except for some occasional defensive behavior. AsiehAmini
          believes: “No excuse must distract people from the goal they believe in. If non-violent behavior is the pattern
          and the expectation, a peaceful and secured society must not allow any group to cause any deviation from this
          goal.” The question is how can we make this behavior institutionalized?
          This journalist believes: “One of the challenges of the Green Movement and other movements such as that of
          women is the lack of any plan as to how to continue defensive campaigning. A non-violent campaign needs
          some creativity. It seems as though the think tanks that were responsible for organizing coalitions and unions
          in other movements, such as the women's movement, which led to collective decision making were absent in
          the Green Movement. This was a serious void in what the Green Movement copied from the women's
          movement. On the other hand, an oppressive regime is nothing new. It has been seen throughout history how
          some political groups chose to use violence in response to a government's oppression and how its negative
          impacts lingered around for many years. The civil movements received positive responses from Iranian
          society for choosing the most civil approaches. Resorting to violence will take us further away from security,
          peace, and democracy.”
          Another factor is that women's presence in protests contributes to less violence. As Khadijeh Moghadam,
          another women's movement activist believes:
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          “If it were not for the presence of mothers and women in general in the public protests, there is no doubt
          violence would have escalated. A week after Neda was killed, the mother participants of the Green Movement,
          using the experience of the women's movement, especially the Campaign, showed up in Laleh park and
          adjacent streets, Behesht-e Zahra, in front of Evin prison, the Revolutionary court, and the Judiciary building
          and demanded the end of killings, the prosecution of those responsible, and the release of those imprisoned
          for their beliefs. This was an unprecedented move in the history of the women's movement in Iran.”
          For aforementioned reasons, although the women's movement is considered a model for the Green Movement
          in some cases such as the promotion of a non-violent campaign, in order to employ more practical solutions
          to institutionalize the non-violent campaign, the movement needs to seek more appropriate approaches
          compatible with the new circumstances of this society and offer it in a more effective manner. This is because
          admiring the philosophy of non-violence is not enough to address the questions of the young generation who,
          these days, are finding themselves alone and vulnerable facing the most serious types of oppression.
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