by Reyhaneh Ahmadi
After the alleged June 12 election rigging in Iran that brought Ahmedinejad back to power, the world witnessed an uprising of the Iranian people against the oppressive regime. What started as a series of demonstrations in major cities soon turned into mass protests against the government’s oppressive policies and corruption. The people showed their objection to the regime’s undemocratic institutions and actions, especially in regard to women and minorities. For example, In Iran it is illegal for a woman to sing solo. Her crime is all the more serious if she is expressing opposition to the regime’s treatment of women. So in the eyes of the government, the Persian female rapper “Gogha” (translated into “uproar”), is committing a serious crime by speaking against the regime’s oppressive treatment of women. For instance, in her song ‘A wind-up doll’ she speaks as “the voice for thousands of suppressed women” who want both social and legal equality.Iran’s statutes reflect Sharia law, which promotes inequality between men and women. The government undermines a woman’s independence when it prohibits her from engaging in certain professions and legally binds her to require a man’s approval for many of her decisions. Women are inferior to men under Iranian law, however this does not stop them from putting their lives in danger to struggle for change. In this oppressive system, Iranian working class women are especially vulnerable. They suffer the double exploitation of being both workers and women. They hold jobs with little security and are victims of discrimination in the workforce because many employers are unwilling to abide by laws created to appease the demands of women. So female employees have a choice: between no income, or giving up their rights. Therefore, the group with the strongest motivation to rebel, due to their lack of material interests within the current system, has to struggle to speak up. The oppressive institutions compel women to be obedient to those above them “before and under the law” according to the rule of Islamic law. We cannot change the past, but we have the ability to change the future. Ghogha and other women and men like her have the potential to change this oppressive system, which thrives on suppressing society’s most vulnerable—most of whom are women.
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