Iran's First Lady
TAHERI, AMIR
Iran's First Lady Meet Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, a voice for human rights in the Muslim world. BY AMIR TAHERI Editor's Note: The Nobel Committee's decision to name Iranian human-rights lawyer...
...And yet the situation in Iran seems blocked...
...Some people believe a new revolution is necessary...
...It is always full of surprises...
...The problem that women face in Muslim societies is not because of religion...
...Some opposition figures, including a grandson of Khomeini, have called for American military intervention in Iran...
...This is both a principled and a pragmatic position...
...We have had all sorts of regimes in Muslim countries, including secularists, Marxists, and nationalists...
...I was one of millions who voted for Khatami because had we not done so, the conservatives would have won...
...But I always make sure that our home is properly organized and run...
...As for the comments made against me, people are free to express their views...
...They talk of "Islamic" economics so that they can justify the abuse of the nation's wealth...
...Keep fighting...
...Instead of telling girls to cover their hair, we should teach them to use their heads...
...They talk of "Islamic" education so that they can justify their policy of brainwashing children and youths...
...Khatami is not the only proponent of reform...
...I am not against men...
...God created us all equals...
...It will also strengthen civil society, without which no democratization is possible...
...I am against a patriarchal culture that denies equal rights for half of humankind...
...In any case Khatami's second and final term will come to an end...
...Do you still regard him as a leader for reform...
...So you believe that we should leave religion out of political discussions...
...If I don't wear it, I will be violating the law...
...The decision to close those cases is political...
...Some say that, with time, you might become a half-forgotten icon like Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese leader who also won the Nobel peace prize...
...It is mothers who raise boys who become men...
...We have a deep-rooted and growing movement for democracy and human rights that has support in all sections of society...
...The elder one, Negar, aged 22, is a graduate in communications-engineering from the Sharif University in Tehran...
...I don't share that analysis...
...Should the Islamic Republic be replaced with a secular regime...
...Any message for Muslim women...
...Will you feel safe...
...Outside Iran, you do not wear the hijab...
...One other project is to help with mine-clearance in provinces that were affected by the Iran-Iraq war...
...But I know about Iran...
...This is the case with many Iranian women...
...I also have my nongovernmental organization for children plus programs to help women...
...BY AMIR TAHERI Editor's Note: The Nobel Committee's decision to name Iranian human-rights lawyer and activist Shirin Ebadi the 2003 peace laureate has turned her into a household name throughout Iran and the Muslim world...
...What are your feelings...
...Moreover, the 56-year-old Ebadi has become an alternative source of moral authority in Iran—and a rare figure of consensus in that fractious society...
...The number of people who want reform is rising all the time...
...It is excerpted here...
...What are the projects you now have in mind...
...People are free to have their own opinions on all subjects...
...Yes...
...But those who make threats would be wise to stop for a moment to ponder the undercurrents of history...
...What is at stake is beyond me or any other individual...
...A few weeks ago you left Tehran for Paris as just another traveler...
...What will she do with it...
...What I am saying is that we should not allow anyone to impose his interpretation of religion on others by force, intimidation, or peer pressure...
...I think nothing of lasting value can come out of violence...
...Will she, as some opposition leaders clearly hope, lead a list of pro-democracy candidates in next March's general elections...
...What I am working for is a reform movement in all walks of life, political, social, cultural, and, of course, individual rights...
...The message is that fighting for human rights in Iran is not a lonely pursuit...
...President Khatami has said that your prize is not worth "all that fuss...
...What we need is a gender-neutral reading of Islamic texts...
...They talk of "Islamic" philology so that they can twist language to suit their aims...
...As individuals we are all affected by our religious beliefs or lack of them...
...This is happening in our country...
...I don't know about Burma...
...Unfortunately, however, I must admit that President Khatami has missed the historic opportunities he had...
...It is true that human rights are violated in most Muslim countries...
...But that will not mean the end of our people's aspirations...
...Yes...
...Change could come through elections...
...I am the friend of the powerless, the voice of the voiceless...
...Study the Koran carefully, so that oppressors cannot impress you with citations and interpretations...
...If the present system continues and the Council of the Guardians of the Constitution retains its power to fix the elections, the Iranian people are certain to massively boycott the next general election in March 2004, just as they did in the recent municipal elections...
...But I have many other cases to pursue...
...These and many other questions were posed in a recent telephone interview conducted by Amir Taheri, editor of the French quarterly Politique Internationale, who also translated the interview from Persian...
...Educate yourselves...
...Certainly, whenever I enlist his support...
...Also, there is no guarantee that another revolution would provide something better than the one we had 24 years ago...
...Does your husband help you with housework...
...My mother, Minoo Amidi, is alive and a great source of support for me...
...The humiliation inflicted on women is the result of a diseased gene that is passed to every generation of men, not only by society as a whole but also by their mothers...
...Will she go further and become a candidate for the presidency in 2005...
...I have learned to control my fears and am not put off by threats...
...With the exception of the hardline Khomeinists who have branded her "an enemy of Islam," Ebadi has won praise from virtually all Iranians—from left to right...
...But he, too, is quite busy with his work...
...My social activities may not leave me much time...
...And yet there is no reform...
...Some say your selection is a political move by Europe to show that regime change can come through "soft power" as against the American use of "hard power" in Iraq and Afghanistan...
...People should stop putting the adjective Islamic before or after every word so that they can interpret everything in the interest of their corruption and brutality...
...Our younger daughter, Narguess, aged 21, is following in my footsteps by studying law at Beheshti University in Tehran...
...Do you cook for your family, and, if yes, do they like your cooking...
...What is your reaction...
...I can tell you that I have no plans to stand for election...
...After years of reflection I have come to the conclusion that revolutions never deliver what they promise...
...And in North Korea we do not have an Islamic regime...
...Without my attachment to Iran, my life would have no meaning...
...I was born in Hamadan, but my family moved to Tehran when I was six months old...
...It is up to mothers not to pass on that diseased cultural gene...
...The cost of this revolution will take generations to absorb...
...Now you have returned to a hero's welcome, although some had believed you might decide to stay in Europe...
...Like me, the people of Iran are deeply disappointed with the Islamic Revolution...
...I am opposed to any foreign intervention in our affairs, whether political or military or in any other form...
...What would you say to I those who say Islam is I incompatible with human S. rights...
...Yes...
...Tell us a little bit about your family life...
...I was not prepared for what happened...
...I don't wear the hijab outside Iran because there is no such law...
...We had no other choice...
...In the Islamic Revolution and the war with Iraq that followed, countless families lost their children and/or parents...
...The people of Iran know their problems and know how to seek the solutions...
...The situation in Iran is different from Iraq and Afghanistan...
...I am a mother and a housewife...
...There were no mechanisms for internal change in Iraq and Afghanistan...
...I wear it in Iran because it is imposed by law...
...Those who fight for human rights in places like Iran, and many other developing countries, should always be prepared for the worst...
...The message is that human rights belong to all mankind and that peace is possible only if they are respected...
...What we need is an amended electoral law that allows citizens to vote for any candidate they wish...
...I hope so...
...Do you take time to look after your domestic responsibilities...
...She is currently attending a postgraduate course at McGill University in Canada...
...The nation lost the flower of its youth...
...Can the present regime be reformed without violence...
...I must prove that I am worthy of the honor bestowed upon me...
...The prize given to me shows that the method I have used in the past two decades has been the right one...
...But, as I said right from the beginning, I see the prize as a message from the international community to the people of Iran, especially to women, and, beyond them, to the Muslim world...
...I did not even know that my name had been put forward for a Nobel...
...You supported the election of President Khatami...
...Some feminist circles have hailed you as one of their own...
...In all elections, there are overwhelming majorities for reform...
...Why should Iran be an exception...
...A society changes when large numbers of its members change within themselves...
...There is nothing more that I can do...
...They will see that the age of rule by fear is coming to a close throughout the world...
...I think the era of revolutions has ended...
...I think we can work within the law and seek the changes that are needed through constitutional processes...
...What is your view...
...History is never written in advance...
...Do your best and compete in all walks of life...
...In practical terms, how do you think change could come in Iran...
...They talk of "Islamic" psychology so that they can claim that women are weak, unstable, and unfit to have a role in decision-making...
...All they need is moral and political support from the international community...
...I want that law changed, because I think the state has no business telling women whether or not they should cover their heads...
...What is your reaction...
...I do cook the family meals...
...My husband is Javad Tavas-solian, who is five years older than I and an electrical engineer...
...We have two daughters...
...I support the separation of state and religion because the political space is open to countless views and interests...
...That is a fact of life...
...The only way out is through peaceful reform...
...It means that justice will not be done...
...Some Khomeinist figures have issued thinly disguised threats against you...
...This position is actually supported by the grand ayatollahs...
...I am also against states that pass laws to prevent women from wearing the hijab...
...There is some talk that you might lead a list of pro-democracy candidates in the next parliamentary election or even become a presidential candidate in 2005...
...He was the author of a classic book on commercial law, which is still taught at universities and reissued in new editions every few years...
...There is some confusion here...
...I am a human rights militant and a lawyer and have no other agenda...
...That they are wrong...
...They, too, violated human rights...
...I respect the president's view...
...So it is in conformity with the Shiite I tradition...
...Will your Nobel prize mean a new start for the democracy movement which seems to have lost some steam in recent weeks...
...The failure of his administration is not the failure of the reform movement...
...If corrupt and brutal regimes oppress their people, in what way is this a sign of Islam's incompatibility with human rights...
...What we have in Iran is not a religious regime, but a regime in which those in power use religion as a means of staying in power If the present regime does not reform and evolve into one that reflects the will of the people, it is going to fail, even if it adopts a secularist posture...
...There was never any question of not returning...
...My father, the late Muhammad-Ali Ebadi, was a prominent lawyer...
...Don't let individuals masquerading as theologians claim they have a monopoly on understanding Islam...
...As for whether they like it or not, you have to ask my husband and my daughters...
...I have never done anything illegal and support peaceful means...
...In fighting for equality we are doing what God wants us to do...
...Don't believe that you are decreed to have an inferior position...
...She now possesses a capital of goodwill that few others seem to have in Iran...
...But this is a political, not a religious, reality...
...In Iran, there are...
...The Baathist regime in Iraq was supposedly secular...
...The reform and democracy movement has passed him by...
...It is a result of the patriarchal culture...
...Europe has understood that to stop wars it is necessary to ensure respect for human rights throughout the world...
...Also, millions of Iranians were forced into exile...
...The authorities have decided to definitely close two major cases on which I was working: the case of the thugs that attacked the university dormitory in Tehran, and the case of the murder of [dissident leader] Dariush Foruhar and his wife Parvaneh...
Vol. 9 • November 2003 • No. 8
