Recently, I have been thinking about women and wanted to write a post and life got in the way, but last night I heard a brief report about the girls in Iran who are being poisoned and I just made myself sit down this morning and write.
Apparently, this has been going on all winter, but some people thought it was carbon monoxide poisoning or a nasty flu bug. Now, since it is spring and they have run out of excuses -Iranian leaders are taking it more seriously.
Watch this video and see if you think it is serious.
How do things like this start?
Iran has been educating women for centuries.
What is the problem now?
It seems to have started with this woman, Mahsa Amini, taking off her head scarf - hijab - and as a result, she was arrested by Iranian Morality Police and she died in jail of a heart attack at the age of 22. Women started protesting and burning their hijabs in the street.
It reminded me that women in the 60s burned their bras in the street. Were they arrested? I am sure some of them were; however, I don't remember anyone being poisoned in school as retaliation. But maybe there was retaliation in other ways.
Let me think about it.
Women earn 82% of what men earn according to a Pew study.
81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime.
Are things changing in America? Of course, they are.
However, throughout history, women have suffered terribly keeping the home fires burning while the men defend themselves against the cruel unequal world.
Poor men are not treated equally either. It becomes not just a gender gap issue, but a wealth gap issue.
(More on this art in my next post.)
But I digress.
The fears in Iran are real. Some say factions in Iran are trying to create a Talibanesque regime change in Iran and this is a new trend.
"Activists also worry this could be a disturbing new trend in the country.
“This is a very fundamentalist thinking surfacing in society,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. “We have no idea how widespread this group is but the fact they have been able to carry it out with such impunity is so troubling.”
Impunity means without punishment - look the other way - a nod and a wink.
"What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear abuse of power, and the power to abuse." Isabel Allende
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