Guest Post: “Lost in Opposition”

12 August 2008 Posted By Patrick Disney

Special guest post by Pedram Moallemian

This post first appeared at eyeranian.net:

One of the many problems with the primarily “in-exile” opposition to the Iranian government is their choice to detach themselves from the day-to-day lives of their compatriots back home. I say choice, as with the state of today’s technology, distance is an almost non-existing barrier and they could certainly connect to current issues and hot topics within Iran if they wanted to.

The latest example is a piece of legislation that has already passed primary screening procedures of the appropriate committee and is about to be presented to the Iranian parliament, Majles. Introduced and backed by both the judiciary as well as cabinet and under the title of “Family Assistance Bill” [layehe-hamayat-az-khanevadeh], it will become law if passed by the greater chamber and then ratified by the Guardian Council to ensure its compatibility with the constitution as well as Islamic law and traditions.

Some of the most troublesome sections of the new bill further restrict the rights of women, in particular as it relates to various areas under family law. Proposed changes have set the alarms off already for many activists inside Iran, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi who is threatening to stage a sit-in in front of the Majles if it is passed.

Section 48 of the new legislation, for example, provides for a father that has already lost custody but refuses to hand over the child to the mother to avoid current penalty of a prison sentence by replacing it with a cash fine.

Section 23 not only validates polygamy, it also lifts the current restriction that requires men to obtain permission of their first wife to be able to marry again, as long as they are able to financially support the new family.

There are a number of other examples but I haven’t been able to find any serious attempt by any group opposing the Iranian regime to organize a campaign abroad to contradict the bill, resist its passage and certainly reach out and educate those inside Iran with its closed system of government that may not even be aware of the its impending passage.

There is little doubt they could do it if they wanted to. Presently, there are at least 12 television stations broadcasting 24/7 programming in Farsi to Iran from Southern California alone. Not to mention other TV and radio stations, plus thousands of webcasts, blogs and websites. So, why don’t they? That is when I need to stress again, how they have chosen to remove themselves from the realities of today’s Iran and Iranians.

The very few people who still run these groups as they always have been for the last 28+ years, like to busy themselves with grand visions, real or imagined. These supposed visionaries are too preoccupied with images of an “overthrow” and the glorious rescue of the beloved country to welcome them to her bosoms to worry too much about the women that will be affected immediately after this bill passes.

By continually refusing to address the most immediate but smaller issues, their message and attitude towards the Iranians who have had to deal with this regime for every day of the last (close to) three decades is condescending if not audacious and disrespectful. And as long as they decline to demonstrate more reverence for their people, they will generally be ignored, the way they have been this far.

For further information on the proposed legislation in Farsi, please visit here.

Posted By Patrick Disney

    5 Responses to “Guest Post: “Lost in Opposition””

  1. anonymousejoon says:
    August 13, 2008 at 10:27 am

    Very true. Many Iranians are too busy “prettying up” their own image at the expense of their compatriots in Iran to say anything of substance. All they do is wholesale reject everything under the banner of IRI is illegitimate as they define it.

    There is also another piece of legislation about banning stoning which should be advocated too.

    On the other hand there are more Iranians than “busy” ones that do care about Iran and her prosperity. They are FAR more and they go and visit and see it by their own eyes.

    Reply
  2. AnIranianinMontreal says:
    August 14, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    I wanted to know what the legislation is exactly. So far, I have read the analysis against it, especially from some controversial people, that I personally can’t trust their soundness in many cases. What this opposition say, somehow, sounds totally irrational. In many occasions, I found their arguments totally misleading and even an act of opportunism. It would be a nice idea if you could discuss every section of the legislation, regardless of any political direction. Some of these weblogs are talking against the legislation as if those who proposed it are not human at all or don’t have family including girls let alone their own wife. In today’s Iran, even in very religious families, the idea of having more than one wife for example is totally awkward. When I was in Iran two month ago, it’s been announced in the state’s TV that “DIE” is now the same for women and men. So, to me, it’s totally unacceptable to see another low in completely the opposite direction. Well, you might say there are different factions in the gov. with different worldviews.

    And above all, I don’t understand why you wrote this news in English. I mean, what were you looking for in announcing an internal affair, with such a negative effect on the world public opinion? To me, it’s fine to see discussion, analysis, opinion against the legislation in Farsi, what I don’t understand is why should this be publicized in English, specially now!

    Could you just put all the sections of the legislation? Of course in Farsi.

    Reply
  3. anonymousejoon says:
    August 15, 2008 at 8:20 am

    Here are some links about the legislation:

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=129588

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=120786

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=120877

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=127801

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=129332

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=129525

    Reply
  4. anonymousejoon says:
    August 15, 2008 at 8:22 am

    Here are some links for the registration:

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=129588

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=129525

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=129332

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=127801

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=120877

    http://www5.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=120786

    Reply
  5. Hashem says:
    September 24, 2008 at 9:57 pm

    I think the problem is that most Iranians who oppose the IRI are merely looking for an excuse to pack up and leave, or act irresponsibly while they are in Iran (and not feel bad about it).

    I seriously believe that if the Iranian opposition wanted to do something constructive, by now they could have forced the IRI into allowing more greater social freedom (e.g. removed the ridicules headscarves obligation), provide greater gender equality, ban stoning all together, and even reduced the role of the velayateh-fagheh to a symbolic/spiritual role.

    All these are achievable. Step-by-step roadmaps can drawn out, because there ARE loop-holes in the constitution.

    Sometimes I think the Iranian opposition is even more backwards than the ayatollahs. The opposition is more concerned about petty issues (such as the symbol in the middle of the flag, the names of roads and squares, or adjunction to the name of Iran) than they are about real issues that make a difference.

    It’s good to see someone talking about the real issues.

    Reply

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