On the eve of International Women’s Day, Sholeh Pakravan, mother of Rayhaneh Jabbari- the young Iranian girl, that was sentenced to death and later executed despite international outrage, for defending herself against a rapist- sent a message to mark International Women’s Day, March 8th and expressed her outrage at the Iranian mullahs’ misogyny.
The message reads in part:
“On the occasion of March 8th, International Women’s Day: I am a woman. A silent woman who has the cries of silent women from the depths of the history in her heart. I am a woman who has felt with my flesh and skin the suffering of the innocent girls whose right and justice seeking voices in their defense are not heard when they are raped. Because my child was in such a situation. I am a mother. The mother of the girl who went to the gallows unjustly.”
She goes on to say, “My Rayhaneh has now joined history. But her perseverance and insistence on truth and justice, has been a model for many girls. Oppressors abducted Rayhaneh from my arms and hanged her. Unaware that Rayhaneh’s (basil) seeds were planted in the ground and thousands of green and fresh basil will grow from it.”
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) stands in solidarity with the women of Iran who have had to go through such terrible exploitation and oppression. On Saturday, February 27, 2016, on the eve of the International Women’s Day, a grand gathering entitled, “Pledge for Parity: Women United against Fundamentalism” was held in the presence of the Iranian Resistance’s President-elect Maryam Rajavi and a number of political dignitaries, intellectuals, prominent personalities, and activists of the equality movement from 26 countries and four continents.
She said that, “Mandatory veil, is an all-inclusive and permanent tool for suppression of women. In a matter of only one year, 3.6 million women were inspected and questioned on the streets for “improper veiling” and 18,000 women were put on trial.”
The NCRI is of the view that the common practice of violence and rape against women and widespread addiction and misery of women are among products of the mullahs’ corrupt Sharia.
In Iran under the rule of the mullahs, polygamy, anti-human treatment of women and girl children, sexual abuse of girl children under 9 years of age are justified and imposed on women. Mrs Rajavi said that the Velayat-e Faqih is a senseless monopoly that is confronting women’s equal rights full force. “They have turned Iran into a big prison for women.”
Women are the main victims of fundamentalism in Iran. The NCRI supports theirs struggle against oppression. With solidarity and unity of action, they can play a significant and key role in combatting the excesses of the Iranian regime.
