The Stoning of Soraya M. November 25, 2008
Posted by Fatemeh in Cinema, Culture/Society, Television.Tags: Iran, stoning, Television, The Stoning of Soraya M.
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This was written by Pedestrian and originally appeared at her blog.
When you come from a broken home, it’s tough to talk about your past – or present.
How much do you let out? How much does the world need to know?
I couldn’t help ponder the issue over and over as I was watching clips from The Stoning of Soraya M. on YouTube.
At surface level, it sounds simple. Before we solve age old questions about the questions of religion and state, velayat-e faghih, the right of inheritance, etc, etc, we need to act now. It may take decades for us to solve these dilemmas, but we need short term solutions for people who are suffering today.
One such horror is too many.
And yet, it is not representative of an entire population. It is a symptom, a disease that needs dire attention. Even if there was one such incident every year, it would resonate with so many of us because it is done under sharia law. There is support for it. That is what makes it so different than other forms of brutal domestic violence around the world.
And yet, how do we act? And what do we do?
Take Ms. Nazanin Afshin-Jam who takes credit for influencing the state of child executions in Iran. The truth is that Ms. Afshin-Jam has done nothing, has zero influence and is absolutely devoid of the least bit of credibility inside Iran. She is as unknown and uncared for as Ellen De Generes or Lauren Conrad (possibly less so because as I hear, The Hills is pretty popular in Iran). By going on CNN and taking credit for work she hasn’t done, she is only undermining the thousands of lawyers and activist in Iran who put their life on the line every single day just to make the smallest difference.
There are thousands of people out there, lawyers, journalists, activists, teachers, mothers who are putting themselves in harm’s way hoping that something different will eventually come out of this.
Why do we not hear their stories?
Why do we mostly hear the Azadeh Moavenis and Afshin-Jams of this world?
No, thousands of women are not being stoned to death everyday, but tens of thousands are being molested, raped and abused in much more subtle ways. Since we seem to love focusing on the negative alone, why not focus on them? The so called “ghanoon-e khanevade” (family legislation), which has been going in and out of parliament for the greater part of the last three years has received almost zero attention in media circles. That is what the everyday Iranian woman will worry about. That is what will undeniably affect millions of Iranian woman whose names we will never hear and whose stories we will most certainly forget.
But where are they in the news? On the movie screen? In The New York Times? Why are they missing?
Why not focus on all that these women have been able to achieve despite a myriad of dilemmas and obstacles?
I’ll tell you why: because on the surface, those stories are much less melodramatic. They make for far less entertaining sequences on prime time and public rallies.
…. But that is only one flip of the coin. The other is simply that if you come from a broken home too, quit fucking with me!
[The American] system that is accountable for some of the most violent atrocities in the past century has no right to criticize me on national television. Leave me to my own misery, and to my own ordeals.
Fatemeh, very well said, keep it up, change will come
@ Lana: Thank you, but I can’t take credit. This was written by Pedestrian. You can follow the link at the top of the page to her website. :)
Blogger said:
“Take Ms. Nazanin Afshin-Jam who takes credit for influencing the state of child executions in Iran. The truth is that Ms. Afshin-Jam has done nothing, has zero influence and is absolutely devoid of the least bit of credibility inside Iran.”
This blogger is obviously very uninformed. Anyone with a computer can do a little research to find out the truth.
[This comment has been edited to fit within moderation guidelines.]
Maya, instead of name-calling, why don’t you just present your views?
I didn’t call anyone any names. And I stated my point of view which is that Blogger (Pedestrian) is very uninformed. Nazanin is having a tremendous impact throughout the world and within Iran. If she weren’t she wouldn’t be getting hundreds of emails per day from people within Iran asking for her help. As we speak she is presenting at the House of Commons in England where she is impacting, not only public opinion, but affirmative action throughout Europe concerning human rights abuses in Iran. She engages in these kinds of activities on a daily basis. I gather Pedestrian feels unproductive because she doesn’t have Nazanin’s platform but she shouldn’t take it out on Nazanin who is having a major impact in the world.
@ Maya: In the unedited version of your comment above, you stated that Pedestrian is “ignorant.”
Also, “I gather Pedestrian feels unproductive because she doesn’t have Nazanin’s platform but she shouldn’t take it out on Nazanin who is having a major impact in the world” is a personal attack; please read our comment moderation policy. We do not allow personal attacks on writers or guest writers.
It’s acceptable to disagree with Pedestrian’s analysis and state why you do so, but it’s not acceptable to make judgment calls on her.
Fatemeh,
But it is ok for Pedestrian to make judgment calls on Nazanin? Interesting equal rights opportunities you propose. :-)
A few thoughts on this post:
1. “But where are they in the news? On the movie screen? In The New York Times? Why are they missing?”
Sometimes activists want to remain anonymous. Many times in Iran they need to be. If they were profiled in the New York Times or had a movie made about them it would invite a very serious security threat to themselves or their families, or at the least provide a disabling hindrance on their work as activists. I’m no big Iran activist to be sure, but I would never want to “famous” or even well known because of the danger in involves.
Ms. Afshin-Jam is able to do what she does because she lives in Canada — it’s as simple as that. I have no opinion on her work, but I do know that is willing/able to receive fame because of her particular situation.
2. I think we as activists/concerned citizens need to take partial responsibility for the fact that a lot of stories aren’t heard in mainstream media. In the NGO world, these stories are heard. That’s because groups who know these stories only tend to talk to each other. When was the last time you wrote an op-ed to the New York TImes? I’ve been a proponent of engaging more with the mainstream media about women and Islam, particularly because the people who do tend to be conservative, whereas the liberals stick to academia.
3. http://www.stop-stoning.org
Maya, have you ever been involved in woman’s rights organizations in Iran?
If you have, and you know of Ms. Jam’s direct work with them, (not that she send them emails or that she talks about them on TV – but what she actually DOES for them) give me a couple of their names – it’s very likely that I just don’t know about the ones you are referring to.
But I have. And I know that most people don’t even know who this woman (Ms. Jam) is! That’s my point exactly! That a platform in one country does not in any way mean that you’re accomplishing anything significant in another.
My argument is that EXACTLY! That the fact that “as we speak she is presenting at the House of Commons in England where she is impacting, not only public opinion, but affirmative action throughout Europe concerning human rights abuses in Iran” is NOT going to change the status of human rights abuses in Iran. That it is only people within the system that are really making an impact … and it is people like her outside the system who are taking the benefits. And who are in some ways creating an even more monstrous image of Iran for people who have not the smallest idea about what is really going on in that country.
Since when can an Iranian claim to want to “influence” the state of human rights in another country? In the U.S. or Mongolia or Australia? As preposterous as our human rights record is in Iran … only WE Iranians are the ones to do something about it. What does the house of commons or any other non-Iranian institution have to do with this?
And I am pretty sure you are accurate about the emails Ms. Jam gets on a daily basis. I am also pretty sure that a great majority of the Iranian population, women in Zahedan and Khuzestan and Khorasan … haven’t a clue as to who she is. I don’t think you realize the depth of their trauma. I don’t think you’ve seen their faces up close or spent time talking to them. Because if you did, claiming that Ms. Jam is influencing their lives is just ……. unbelievably wrong.
Because she gets more than a thousand emails a day from people in Tehran and Shiraz does not mean she is doing anything for them. Or that she can!
This makes me so mad. How can anyone ignore the obvious anti-Islamic slant in the trailer of this movie. And are the Iranian actors and actresses in the film really that oblivious to what they’re doing? Haven’t we seen abusive and aggressive Iranian men enough in Hollywood cinema (”Not Without My Daughter,” “The House of Sand and Fog,” and “Crash”)? Haven’t we seen enough demonization of Iranian culture and history (”300″)? What are the men shouting at the end of the trailer? Of course “Allahu Akbar,” but I’m sure we don’t see the main characters praying to Allah or saying that stoning has nothing to do with Islam. Of course they probably won’t show anything Beautiful (i.e. the Truth) about Islam.
This is sensationalism. Movies like this create generalizations not only about Iran, but Islam as well. Anyone who hasn’t been to Iran or doesn’t have any contact with Iranians and Muslims, is very likely to develop prejudices against the community that is wrongly being represented in the film.
I’ve seen Ms. Nazanin Afshin-Jam’s CD in the music store and I’ve seen some of the articles written about her. Right-wing pundits Love using her to criticize and insult Muslim civil rights organizations like CAIR. Just run a search on her and you’ll find shamelessly ANTI-ISLAMIC websites that praise her as the “hot Persian woman” who fights for Iranian women’s rights.
On one hand, they stand up for women’s rights, but on the other, they incite hatred and prejudice against Muslims. It’s so hypocritical. It’s not that hard to see, people.
Anyway, this was a great post Pedestrian. Thanks for speaking out about this!
Pedestrian wrote,
“My argument is that EXACTLY! That the fact that “as we speak she is presenting at the House of Commons in England where she is impacting, not only public opinion, but affirmative action throughout Europe concerning human rights abuses in Iran” is NOT going to change the status of human rights abuses in Iran.”
This is where you are wrong. International public opinion is a tremendously powerful force. It impacts not only economic issues but the interests of the nation seeking to be a member of the international community. It has happened repeatedly in history. And for your information the fact that Nazanin lives in Canada doesn’t shield her at all from the dangers. She constantly recieves death threats and various other forms of verbal abuse that make it extremely difficult for her to go out in public.
You have a few valid points in your blog but you discount the hard work of someone who is using her position to help the situation. Rather than criticizing her why don’t you realize that each contribution is important in its own way. Your contribution is just as important as hers. You are just contributing differently.
Broken Mystic,
The fact that certain anti-Muslim groups and right wing pundits post Nazanin’s picture on their websites does not mean she supports their anti-Islamic ideas. In fact, you would probably be surprised to learn that many of her supporters and family members are Muslim. Nothing she does is anti-Islam but everything she does is pro-human rights.
Maya,
Those anti-Muslim websites and groups do more than post Nazanin’s picture. They GLORIFY her as some kind of rebellious anti-Muslim heroine. These groups could care less about the actual cause; they’re only concerned about exploiting Nazanin for their own agenda. They don’t say “hot Persian woman” for no reason other than to taunt the stereotypical notion that Muslims are “offended” and “outraged” by a woman’s skin.
You mention that her supporters and family members are Muslim. This doesn’t change anything. Watch Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” and you’ll understand what I mean. Why would she allow anti-Islamic pundits interview her and why hasn’t she said anything against their insults towards Muslim civil rights organizations like CAIR?
In the music video of her song “Someday”, she shows images of Muslim extremists during the Islamic Revolution, and these images perpetuate stereotypes about Iranians and Muslims. They also cause people to think of Iranians in a divisive way, i.e. there are “good” Iranians who want to be Westernized and believe we have a mutual enemy (the Muslim radicals), and there are the “bad” ones who either *are* the radicals or side with the radicals.
The images of radical Muslims get cultivated so much in the media that these images shape our view of the Muslim world.
Listen to the music of Azam Ali and her band, “Niyaz.” She is Iranian and she is not afraid to sing Islamic mystical songs. She does this to break stereotypes about the Islamic world. The real effective way to discuss the Islamic Revolution in Iran is in light of historical context (i.e. how the CIA overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, reinstalled the Shah, which triggered Khomeni’s radical movement). You cannot simply talk about the Islamic Revolution without address the ROOT CAUSE of the problem (western intervention in the Muslim world).
Okay. Let’s please stick to the post from now on.
Pedestrian,
Since your blog contained a link to a Wikipedia site about Nazanin, this link will give a much better picture of what Nazanin and SCE are doing. Everyone’s role is important. People approach the issues in different ways but there is nothing Nazanin is doing that is anti-Islam.
http://stopchildexecutions.com/
to Pedestrian:
1-It’s so sad to see a few ignorant, unfamiliar individual comment without full knowledge of what Ms. Nazanin does for Iranian and most oppressed people.
2-If Islam is different than what we see in Iran, which Islamic country we should take as role model for “correct Islam”? If Iran’s Islamic regime is not following the “correct Islamic way” which country is following the “right” one? and why no Islamic country(s) are not confronting Iran and reminding them to choose the “right way”? after all Iran population is 10% of total Islamic population. why no Islamic country confronted Taliban and now Iran is following the same path of Taliban.
Ms.Nazanin is unique of what she does, and if we had few similar to her caliber we would have a better world.
For those who are not familiar with what she does and who she is connected in Iran and else where, you may read her sites, listen to some of her speeches in Google, and Youtube. Even though her sites are filtered in Iran, most of her contacts through out of Iran, including many lawyers, reporters, bloggers, students, union workers, teachers, etc prefer to stay unanimous for obvious reasons.
3-Where the hell in the world some one should give the name of their contact to you in public and then those people get tortured, or hanged because of ” Moharebeh” ? I am sure you are not serious asking her to submit the list of her contacts in Iran!!! Duh? What type of person would ask such a classified information? just ask street people, the student , the bazzaris, the Kurds, Azaris, Baluchis, Bahais, Sunnis, Jews, Christians, Dervishes, Ismaelis, Arab of Khuzestan, Loris, Khorasanis, Isfahanis, Shirazis, Kermanis, Tehranis, Shomalis, Kishshis, Abu Mousais, Tombis, etc. if they know and what they know about Her. You do not have to use your own cocoon style information system to know if she is known to Iranians. If your circle of friends ( I doubted, because your information shows otherwise) do not know her , that doesn’t mean she is not known. She was watched by 2,2 billion when she was crowned in China as first runner up among 122 other finalists in the World and since then she has been in most national, international front page of media. Yes she may not be known by a hard working farmer in a corner of a small village in Iran, but wasn’t the same scenario about Khomiani and his gang?.
Our subject is not her popularity but her message and her work for humanity. Help her if you believe her path is the right path, go away if you cannot see the light and the truth. Iranian style of Islam is fake and will collapse soon. This is the fact of history, proven over and over again.
Final word: for more info, check with Amnesty International, UN, UN human right division in Geneva, Human rights watch, Canadian Prime minister and house of common in Canada and UK, European Union, Australian House etc plus over 350,000 signatures supporting her openly and officially supporting her plus many other millions all over the world.
Saw the clip and think it’s the most dramatic pile of crap if ever I seen one. “where injustice rules” …give me a break. How is this going to help Iranian women? These sensational aspects of some Iranian (Muslim) women’s lives, for we can’t deny injustice does exist, however, this does not mean the experiences of all Iranian women is being replicated here. (as Pedestrian rightly points out!)The dangers in such implications legitimise wars and hegemonic forces at play. These do nothing but contribute to the already growing divisions both within the Muslim community and the international community. Moreover, they contribute to extremism and reactionary sentiments within these countries– in their effort to ‘protect’ their ‘identity’, ‘honour’ and ‘tradition’.
Pedestrian: Thanks for writing this and for letting us post it on MMW!
I don’t know nearly enough about these issues in an Iranian context to wade into some of the debates happening here in the comments, but I wanted to say that I really appreciate you bringing up this point in your article:
“There are thousands of people out there, lawyers, journalists, activists, teachers, mothers who are putting themselves in harm’s way hoping that something different will eventually come out of this.
Why do we not hear their stories?”
Whether or not the work done by outsiders has any impact within the country, it is often the case that the outsiders get a disproportionate amount of attention compared to those working within the communities, doing the much more tedious, less glamourous, and much less celebrated day-to-day work in struggling for change. Even where the work of foreigners is indeed useful (and again, I don’t know whether that’s the case here), recognition of their work should only come alongside recognition that people in the country have usually been resisting oppression in all sorts of ways long before anyone from the outside heard of it.
@ Sahar: totally agree on the clip being a ridiculously “dramatic pile of crap.”
Question: How do you make a movie about stoning that isn’t a “dramatic pile of crap”?
Rochelle: Lose the drama, contextualise it, and make sure people understand what it needs to be divorced from (Islam and the broader experiences of Muslim women). Immerse it in the historical, political and cultural context so people understand why it exists. That’s how you bring about a more accurate account and change. Not an outright condemnation. Same goes for FGC.
I have listened to a number of individuals criticize this clip because it sensationalizes a circumstance of human rights violations and gives the impression that this reflects a given culture of Islam. I have watched the clip several times and I have to say that I respectfully disagree. This movie addresses an aggregious situation of murder and draws attention to it in an effort to seek the criminal prosecution of those who engage in this type of murder. This is a situation that must be addressed.
There seems to exist a “submullah” mentality that seeks to infiltrate the youth of Iran and tell them not to listen to those who fight for human rights. They talk about not wanting to give the impression that Iran is what people see in the government. Why are they so concerned about this? Is it because they implicitly support the mullahs. They want to push the agenda of the mullahs while appearing to be contemporary. The reality is that the Mullahs in Iran are dead. They have simply not been put in their graves where they belong. But they will be shortly. And our dear friend Nazanin, will give the last rights. :)
On the issue of “honor killings” we don’t want to call it “honor killings” because that triggers an anti-Islamic mentality. So, we need to call it something else. What should we call it. Let’s see. It is about a group of people who kill their minor children, usually female, because they have in some way disgraced the family. They have violated the family’s honor. So, what do we call it? I don’t know. I have to tink about this. Hey I have an idea. How about calling it “honor killings.” :)
[This comment has been edited to fit within moderation guidelines.]
@Maya:
A White, Canadian man, Christian in origin but not necessarily religious, is married to a White, Canadian woman, also Christian in origin but not necessarily religious. He controls her every move. He does not allows her to meet with her family or friends. He wants to isolate her. He believes she is his; that she belongs to him. If she does not do as he says he beats her. At one point he suspects that she is having an affair, he thinks she is going behind his back to see someone else. How dare she defy him! How dare she deceive him. What if others find out? They will think he’s a fool for not knowing. So he kills her to show others that he is no fool. That he knows what’s going on and he will not be embarrassed by her. To show others that he is a man. He has protected his OWN honour. So what shall we call that? Let’s see. He killed his wife to protect his personal honour. Hmm…..AH! I know! How about “honour killing” :)
Sobia,
Yes, what you described I would call an “honor killing.”
I admire your stand. The world needs more Women of Courage like you and all the ordinary women of courage you spoke about in your article… AND those unknown heroines and heroes who support them.
Love to you… Sharon