Social media gives women a voice in Iran
Summary of story from The Guardian, September 23, 2011
Female protesters were beaten, raped and intimidated in the crackdown by the Iranian authorities after the election there in 2009.
Few post-election detainees have spoken about about their experiences because they fear not only being re-arrested, but also because of the stigma of rape that exists in Iran.
But some of them are now using social media to bear witness to the horror they endured.
One young woman has agreed to speak on camera, her face obscured to prevent her being identified.
Her voice heavy with emotion, and, hands gesturing, she describes the rape and torture she endured at the hands of her guards while imprisoned during the post-election crackdown in Iran.
The 22-year-old filming her statement is one of 300 women known to have been arrested in Iran since the disputed election of June 2009.
Some cases, such as that of film-maker Mahnaz Mohammadi and Maryam Majd, a photojournalist, have been criticised worldwide, but most, like that of this young student, seemed unlikely to attract international attention.
“No one came to look for me. No one knew when they were raping me, or when they were burning me with cigarettes,” she says.
The student’s 100-minute testimony is the most detailed account of the treatment of prisoners in Iran since the crackdown began, says Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York based International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
A 28-minute segment of it has had more than 75,000 views and has been shared widely on social networks including Facebook and Twitter.
“The regime has capitalised on not only the fear of retribution but also the social and cultural attitudes towards rape,” explains Ghaemi.
“But the student is part of a younger generation of women who are more willing to challenge traditional attitudes about their position in society, says journalist and women’s rights activist Parvin Ardalan.
“Social media gave the young woman a voice, enabling her to speak out about her experience and encourage other women on the margins to follow her example, but the power of social media on its own is not enough,” she adds.
Man its disgusting that around the world we can have these abuses of human rights but because they are women and because a male dominated culture/religion says its ok nobody steps in, nobody lifts a finger.