Help Save Iranian Woman From Stoning

I came across a very important story today on Jezebel about a woman who has been sentenced to death by stoning, her supposed offense: adultery.

Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani is a forty-three year old woman from Tabriz, Iran. She was accused of adultery in 2006 and sentenced to 99 lashes, based on the opinions of a judge and not evidence. In Iran a judge is allowed to make a final ruling on a case when evidence is inconclusive. This year her case was reopened because her husband died and she was suspected of having murdered him. Again, evidence was inconclusive and a judge ruled that she was guilty and sentenced her to death by stoning.

As if the entire situation doesn't already spell out misogyny, the way in which women are stoned in comparison to men is also horrifying and sexist. In Iran when a woman is stoned she is buried up to her breast in the ground, a man is buried up to his waist. If the person being stoned manages to free themselves they are allowed to live.

Jezebel links to a petition, and cites that a letter from Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could stop the murder of Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani. Spread the word, tweet, and blog.

We must take a stand against the stoning of Ashtiani, because she was unjustly tried. And also stoning is barbaric, you'd think that in the year 2010, we wouldn't have to write blog posts about stoning. Not to mention that her "crime" wasnt a crime in the first place. She and any other woman/person should be able to exercise sexual freedom.

The HBO documentary called "For Neda" is on YouTube for free, its great, WATCH IT! I thought it gave me a better understanding of what life is like for women living in Iran. It's about Neda Agha-Soltan and the post-election protests in 2009.

Photo Credit to Quixotic54 on Flickr.com