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

Dress Immodestly on April 26, Take A Small Stand Against Oppression of Women

The event's tag line? "Help fight supernatural thinking and the oppression of women, just by dressing immodestly!"

The time and place? Monday, April 26, 12:05am - 11:55pm, everywhere.

And finally, the name: Boobquake.

It may not be the most elegant of titles, but keep in mind, this started out as a joke.

Its creator, Jennifer McCreight, a Purdue University student, writes in her blog that the whole idea was meant to be "a somewhat sarcastic reply to the ludicrous notion that women's immodesty causes earthquakes." However, it has exploded into an unintended phenomenon.

The Facebook event currently has 103,334 confirmed guests, with more than 28,000 who may also attend. Hundreds of comments can be found on both the Facebook event page and on Ms. McCreight's blog, not to mention new tweets on Twitter are popping up every minute for #boobquake.

You might be wondering what this ridiculous title has to do with the oppression of women. Simply read my post from Tuesday of this week. But for a quick update, this movement was spawned when an Iranian cleric, Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, was quoted by Iranian media as saying, "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes."

You might be able to imagine the reactions of many people upon reading this. They included ranged from shock and profuse head-shaking to...well, a reaction like that of Ms. McCreight's. Her idea is to have all the women of the world (or at least those who use Facebook, Twitter or read blogs) to dress "immodestly" this coming Monday.

As she puts it, "On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that's your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I'm sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn't rumble. And if we really get through to him, maybe it'll be one involving plate tectonics."

Ms. McCreight's idea has gotten a variety of reactions, ranging from "Awesome!" to "this is anti-feminist." She has responded with a blog post for clarification.

"I don't think the event is completely contrary to feminist ideals. I'm asking women to wear their most 'immodest' outfit that they already would wear, but to coordinate it all on the same day for the sake of the experiment. Heck, just showing an ankle would be considered immodest by some people.

Ms. McCreight continues, "I don't want to force people out of their comfort zones, because I believe women have the right to choose how they want to dress. Please don't pressure women to participate if they don't want to. If men ogle, that's the fault of the men, not me for dressing how I like. If I want to a show a little cleavage or joke about my boobs, that's my prerogative.

"And to the scientists who are concerned with my methods - don't worry, I fully plan on doing some statistics after the event. I know many earthquakes happen on a daily basis, so we're looking to see if Boobquake significantly increases the number or severity of earthquakes. Or if an earthquake strikes West Lafayette, IN and only kills me, that may be good evidence of God's wrath as well (I'm not too concerned)."

Let's just hope this coming Monday remains earthquake-free.

Photo credit: Facebook Event, Boobquake

The Latest (En)rage(ment) in Keeping Women Oppressed

I was relieved to read in the New York Times about Pope Benedict XVI meeting with some of the sex abuse victims from the ongoing scandals in the Catholic Church. Finally, after so many years, this Sunday, he came face to face with the people whose suffering he tried to keep a secret. It gave me hope that the religious figures of our time are not without (ironically) souls...

...but, then my friend forwarded this doozy:
An Iranian cleric believes promiscuous women cause earthquakes.

And once again, instead of using its great influence for positive change, this cleric is using religion to keep women oppressed. And what's the latest update? Young women in Iran dare to wear form-fitting coats and scarves instead of the traditional burqa, which leaves only a slit showing their eyes. These rebellious Iranian women showing their faces (and hair...whow) in public rather than hiding behind a cloth causes...yes, seismic activity.

The cleric in question, Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, was quoted by Iranian media, "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes." It appears Tehran, Iran's capitol city, is located in an area of increased seismic activity and many fault lines. But I suppose cleric Sedighi saw this as a great opportunity to try to shame women into wanting to dress in something other than a head-to-toe blanket.

Upon reading the story, Shanna Bolden, a George Mason University graduate student, commented, "This prayer leader is basically saying that men are animals, react only by instinct, and have no control over their own actions? In that case, women should have taken over Iran by now!!!" Excellent point, Shanna.

On a related subject, a poll was recently taken, following French President Nicolas Sarkozy's announcement of potentially banning the burqa. The poll showed that 70 percent of French respondents supported the ban, 65 percent showed support in Spain, and 63 in Italy. Furthermore, even 57 percent of UK voters were in favor, and 50 percent of those from Germany wanted to see this head-to-toe women's garment banned.

However, only 33 percent of Americans who took the poll were in support of its riddance. We claim to be such a liberal country, with freedom of choice and expression. So what's the issue here? Perhaps it has to do with our idea that church and state should be kept separate, as James Joyner of the Atlantic Council brought up.

But at the end of the day, the women of Iran were not demanding a ban of any sort. They simply want to dress in a way that allows them to move more comfortably and to feel more free in their daily lives. It is disheartening to think that the men who control these women's lives are coincidentally too weak to control their own sexual urges. So who should be ashamed?

Photo credit: Associated Press