-- Roza Javan
The above sentence was the first statement I had ever read by champion of workers' and women's rights Roza Javan. I first read of Roza in an article entitled "With the hard disk full of socialism" which was featured on the web site "In Defence of Marxism" a while back. The original authors of the piece (from the Swedish magazine Arbetaren) wrote vividly of Roza's dedication to the workers' movement, beginning with her account of her father's struggles under the Khomeni regime:
When Roza was nine years old, her father was sacked from the factory in which he had worked for eight years.
"He had refused to fight in the war and he always talked back at the foreman. But when he got fired he shouted "I shall get my job back!" at the foreman. When nothing happened, he took his case to a court in the city. The judge offered him a small lump sum to compensate him, but he refused to accept any money other than his wages. After six months of struggle, he finally got his job back. Then the foreman decided that he had had enough and quit."
Roza Javan continues to talk about her father and says that he always used to come home and curse the company. Since the company was owned by the state, his curses would also be directed against the state and the "Imam" which was Khomeini's honorary nickname.
"When I heard him swear, I used to tear out pages from my notebook and use them to make leaflets bearing the slogan "marg bar Jomhourie Islamie Iran": down with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Then I would put them under the neighbours' doors, ring the doorbell and run away. I have been political since I was a child. Here in Iran, children of the poor always talk about politics in school and at home, watch and follow the news and try to read the newspapers."
"He had refused to fight in the war and he always talked back at the foreman. But when he got fired he shouted "I shall get my job back!" at the foreman. When nothing happened, he took his case to a court in the city. The judge offered him a small lump sum to compensate him, but he refused to accept any money other than his wages. After six months of struggle, he finally got his job back. Then the foreman decided that he had had enough and quit."
Roza Javan continues to talk about her father and says that he always used to come home and curse the company. Since the company was owned by the state, his curses would also be directed against the state and the "Imam" which was Khomeini's honorary nickname.
"When I heard him swear, I used to tear out pages from my notebook and use them to make leaflets bearing the slogan "marg bar Jomhourie Islamie Iran": down with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Then I would put them under the neighbours' doors, ring the doorbell and run away. I have been political since I was a child. Here in Iran, children of the poor always talk about politics in school and at home, watch and follow the news and try to read the newspapers."
Roza's account of the dark days of her childhood and her early radicalization are told with such passion that the article's authors suggested she possessed "more energy and charisma than anybody else we met in Iran." Indeed, her incredible story of struggle and activism in the face of severe repression and any number of socio-political barriers is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Roza Javan's story is now included in the new book Iran on the Brink: Rising Workers and Threats of War by Andreas Malm and Shora Esmailian. I have not had the opportunity to read the book yet, but Louis Proyect has included a two-part review of the book on his incomparable blog "The Unrepentant Marxist" (Part One | Part Two). While I have not gotten around to ordering my copy of Iran on the Brink just yet, someone was kind enough to share excerpts from the work which chronicle Roza's continued struggle against Political Islam and the repression of women and workers:
At home, by her bed, she gingerly lays out the books she has been able to buy: Capital in Farsi, Mandel's Introduction to Marxist Economic Theory, a bulky volume on the history of the Tudeh party. They are in mint condition:
They were so expensive I don't dare to make any notes in them. I use a notepad instead, and reading Marx is very difficult, so I do what I used to do in chemistry: I set up formulas. When I had first become a socialist, I wanted to get the message out, I wanted all my student mates to know. I touted the books, scribbled slogans in the toilets, pasted a picture of Marx on my folder so it would be clearly visible for anyone passing by in the corridor... until my mentor told me: “Are you mad? Don't you know that being a socialist carries the death punishment in Iran? Are you not aware that the regime executed thousands of Leftists in the 1980s?' I decided to be more discreet."
In the early months of 2004, word of a planned May Day demonstration in Tehran was circulating. On a blog, Roza had come across some like-minded students in her city and they decided to go....Some of her high hopes were, however, quickly dashed. Enrolling in Komiteye Hamahangi, she was challenged by men and their patronising attitudes: "'Who are you, are you a real worker?', they would say. And when I asked about the revolution they would not respond. I would ask 'What do you mean by "abolishing wage labour", what is it supposed to look like in real life? Either one works and gets some money for it, or one works and gets a bag of rice and a chicken - what is it that you want?' They didn't specify."
After her encounter with organised feminism and socialism in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Roza took up writing herself. Her computer is now filled with Marxist classics downloaded from the Farsi-language division of the Marxist Internet Archive, as well as her own short stories, essays and commentaries on subjects ranging from the Khatonabad massacre to the merits and demerits of Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. No money to buy a printer, her eyes ache from all her onscreen work.
They were so expensive I don't dare to make any notes in them. I use a notepad instead, and reading Marx is very difficult, so I do what I used to do in chemistry: I set up formulas. When I had first become a socialist, I wanted to get the message out, I wanted all my student mates to know. I touted the books, scribbled slogans in the toilets, pasted a picture of Marx on my folder so it would be clearly visible for anyone passing by in the corridor... until my mentor told me: “Are you mad? Don't you know that being a socialist carries the death punishment in Iran? Are you not aware that the regime executed thousands of Leftists in the 1980s?' I decided to be more discreet."
In the early months of 2004, word of a planned May Day demonstration in Tehran was circulating. On a blog, Roza had come across some like-minded students in her city and they decided to go....Some of her high hopes were, however, quickly dashed. Enrolling in Komiteye Hamahangi, she was challenged by men and their patronising attitudes: "'Who are you, are you a real worker?', they would say. And when I asked about the revolution they would not respond. I would ask 'What do you mean by "abolishing wage labour", what is it supposed to look like in real life? Either one works and gets some money for it, or one works and gets a bag of rice and a chicken - what is it that you want?' They didn't specify."
After her encounter with organised feminism and socialism in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Roza took up writing herself. Her computer is now filled with Marxist classics downloaded from the Farsi-language division of the Marxist Internet Archive, as well as her own short stories, essays and commentaries on subjects ranging from the Khatonabad massacre to the merits and demerits of Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. No money to buy a printer, her eyes ache from all her onscreen work.
Probably the most remarkable consideration here is to gauge the courage of a writer and activist like Roza Javan against the relative dearth of progressive and radical leadership in the west. Imagine — amidst the looming omnipresence of the Iranian theocracy, a movement for women's equality, workers' rights, peace and socialism continues to grow.
The threat of repercussions is palpable and all too real to Iranian workers and activists. The recent arrest of Mahmood Salehi provides yet another example of the ongoing struggle within Iran. On April 9, Salehi, one of Iran's leading labor activists, was arrested "on charges of organizing May Day strikes and demonstrations" in 2006:
Salehi who was at work at the time was taken during his lunch break by armed security forces to the public prosecutor’s office regarding his bail on charges of organizing May Day strikes and demonstrations last year. Later at the public prosecutor’s office, a revised court verdict was read to him summarily sentencing him to one year imprisonment and 3 years suspended sentence.
He was immediately transferred to the city of Sanandaj prison. Clearly this is an attempt to intimidate and attack the labour movement both in Iran and internationally. Last Year Manhood Salehi was bailed under immense international pressure from trade unions, and labour and progressive organizations internationally. (full story)
He was immediately transferred to the city of Sanandaj prison. Clearly this is an attempt to intimidate and attack the labour movement both in Iran and internationally. Last Year Manhood Salehi was bailed under immense international pressure from trade unions, and labour and progressive organizations internationally. (full story)
What do we have in the way of such political action in the West — in America, the land of "freedom of expression" and "freedom of assembly" — in comparison the the brave women and labor leaders of Iran? Where are our May Day demonstrations and workers' movements? Where is our collective demand for peace, tolerance and equality? Where is our solidarity with such struggles in other nations? What is our excuse for our inaction and our indifference?
Our friend "K." who occasionally writes us with information regarding the workers' movement in Iran advises me that repression within the country remains stifling. Confirming reports in the Western press, K. recently shared that Iranian women are now required in many places to wear veils — veils which he describes as "stricter" than the traditional forms of these garments. Also, in addition to the fact that men are being penalized for sporting "Western" haircuts, K. shared that young men and boys are also facing penalties for wearing short sleeve shirts. And yet the movement forges ahead in Iran, growing in strength thanks to many brave Iranians.
Iranians — and the working people of the world — need more leaders like Roza Javan.
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Thanks to all who contributed to this article, both directly and indirectly, including: Louis Proyect, "K.", Maarten (for the photo) and — of course — Roza Javan.
