By now, thank goodness, people are growing aware of what is going on in Iran, particularly how the Islamic theocracy oppresses its women; and we are learning how anti-government protests, by both men and women, are spreading across Iran. The original cause of these protests, now being covered by Western news, was the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, apparently killed by Iran’s “morality police” after being arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. The incident now has its own Wikipedia page.
One of the biggest critics of Iran’s treatment of its women has been exiled Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad, whose tweets and writings I’ve featured for a long time on this site. She launched the Facebook page My Stealthy Freedom and instituted the custom of “White Wednesdays,” when women in Iran wear white to protest oppression and misogyny. If you follow people on Twitter, do follow Masih, as she posts daily updates on Iran and often features videos and photos conveyed to her from Iranian women. The Iranian government considers her so dangerous that they confected a plot to kidnap her, but this was foiled by the U.S. government.
Reader Enrico called my attention to the fact that Alinejad appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher this week. The full interview (about ten minutes long) is below, and Enrico says that this video will probably disappear within two days, so watch it now. If you click on the video, it begins when Alinejad appears, but the video contains the full show, which is why it will soon be taken down.
At 12:05 Maher asks her, “why are liberals so moronic about the problem?” Why does he ask this? Because Alinejad has been quite vocal and critical about Western feminists ignoring the oppression of women in Iran (discussing the issue is considered “Islamophobic”, as she says below). Further, the Biden administration is cozying up to to a regime that spits on human rights and regularly kills its citizens. (In my view, the “nuclear deal” that Biden is trying to make with Iran is ludicrous and will be ineffectual—except in enriching Iran as Iran enriches uranium).
Bravo. Why are so many of our fellow liberals hoodwinked?
I really, really hope she’s right about the Iranian government fearing the unprecedented anger and rebellion of the Iranian women. And not just the women — the men are cheering them on. Religion with power usually doubles down when faced with blasphemy, but religion in power too long can turn adherents off. Let’s hope.
Hijab is a clear cut symbol of women’s oppression. I’m curious if National Hijab Day on February 1st will have the usual round of celebrities cheering on women’s “right” to choose to wear the headgear representing Female Modesty.
I heard recently (maybe NPR?) that the Iranian government strategy of rigorous crackdowns stems from a lesson learned when the Shah of Iran was on the cusp of being forced out. Seeking to defuse the rising protests, he publicly apologized for his actions. But the Iranian people, seeing blood, then surged in their protests and his regime fell.
So from that, the Iranian government has supposedly learned to never seek “restorative justice” with protests against them.
“The original cause of these protests, now being covered by Western news, was the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, apparently killed by Iran’s “morality police” after being arrested for not wearing her hijab properly.”
Here’s what Annalena Baerbock, German Minister for Foreign Affairs and member of the pro-feminist Green Party, said in the Bundestag about what happened to that poor woman:
“With all due respect for cultural and religious differences. When the police beat a woman to death, it seems, because the moral guardians believe she is not wearing her headscarf properly, then that has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with religion or culture. Then it is simply a horrific crime.”
How dare she deny the fact that those “moral guardians” aren’t ordinary street thugs, but the official enforcers of Islamic law in an Islamic theocracy?! This is the sort of woke blindness to reality that makes me very angry.
I know Baerbock intends well, but she is wrong – it has everything to do with religion and culture, which enabled the thugs.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions…
I spit out my coffee when Maher mocked the official explanation that she died of some pre-existing condition. Maher is the ultimate anti-vax “the only people who died of Covid had pre-existing conditions” Covid denier. One of several reasons I can’t watch his show anymore (but of course he is right in this segment; just pointing out the ironic contradiction)
What with the NY Times reporting a couple of weeks ago that the daily Covid death rate was hovering around 400, I wonder how much higher the rate will have to be before the media deem it worthy of reporting. All else being equal, it seems reasonable that fewer people will get the booster if they are not aware of the daily fatality rate.
The thing for the Dems to do is to force Harris to resign, appoint a true moderate as VP, then have Biden resign or use the 25th Amendment on him.