Thou! woman the presence of life,
the time of slavery is finished.
The freedom of women is possible,
our effort is constructing it.
This voice is the voice of freedom,
This call is the outburst of consciousness.
Another world is possible,
This movement is engendering it.
At 5 P.M. on March 8, around 1000 people, mainly the young, gathered in a park in Valie Asr street in Tehran, singing the above hymn. There were people of all ages and sexes, but the number of women and girls was high. A lot of activists from workers' and university movements also participated in the demonstration. As soon as they started singing, the security forces began speaking through the loudspeaker saying, "Since this get-together is illegal, you must leave the area."
Noticing that the people seemed to be indifferent as to what was said, one of the officers said, "You will be given 5 minutes, after that you will be treated differently." At the same time, one of the girls who was asking the public to be silent started reading a declaration. Now the officers and civil forces, forgetting what one of their officers had announced, behaved ridiculously and started attacking the people.
They beat the people violently, no matter how old they were. Simin Behbahani, a very famous Iranian poet aging above 70 was attacked while the others tried to let their bodies be the barriers between the batons, kicks and the lady. They tried to scatter the crowd, but some young girls sat there and let their bodies be run over by the soldiers and officers while singing the above hymn.
Others, instead of leaving the area, just turned around. A lot of people being followed by the guardians had to go through a current of water and left in wet pants and shoes as a result. The crossroad was blocked for more than an hour. The crowd was scattered at about 7, while the police did not let anybody stand in that street or the streets nearby.
It may be interesting and perhaps incredible for many people living in different countries to know that in Iran that Internet sites have been widely filtered as to the word WOMEN and everything related to International Women's Day.
the time of slavery is finished.
The freedom of women is possible,
our effort is constructing it.
This voice is the voice of freedom,
This call is the outburst of consciousness.
Another world is possible,
This movement is engendering it.
At 5 P.M. on March 8, around 1000 people, mainly the young, gathered in a park in Valie Asr street in Tehran, singing the above hymn. There were people of all ages and sexes, but the number of women and girls was high. A lot of activists from workers' and university movements also participated in the demonstration. As soon as they started singing, the security forces began speaking through the loudspeaker saying, "Since this get-together is illegal, you must leave the area."
Noticing that the people seemed to be indifferent as to what was said, one of the officers said, "You will be given 5 minutes, after that you will be treated differently." At the same time, one of the girls who was asking the public to be silent started reading a declaration. Now the officers and civil forces, forgetting what one of their officers had announced, behaved ridiculously and started attacking the people.
They beat the people violently, no matter how old they were. Simin Behbahani, a very famous Iranian poet aging above 70 was attacked while the others tried to let their bodies be the barriers between the batons, kicks and the lady. They tried to scatter the crowd, but some young girls sat there and let their bodies be run over by the soldiers and officers while singing the above hymn.
Others, instead of leaving the area, just turned around. A lot of people being followed by the guardians had to go through a current of water and left in wet pants and shoes as a result. The crossroad was blocked for more than an hour. The crowd was scattered at about 7, while the police did not let anybody stand in that street or the streets nearby.
It may be interesting and perhaps incredible for many people living in different countries to know that in Iran that Internet sites have been widely filtered as to the word WOMEN and everything related to International Women's Day.
We again extend our sincere gratitude to “K.” for his assistance in helping us to understand and appreciate the difficult conditions in Iran.
Further Reading
Iran: Police Attack Women's Day Celebration Reuters 09 Mar 2006
Simin Behbahani Biography and poetry from the Iranian Chamber Society
