SMCCDI-A Call to Observe Women's Liberation Day

For the Persian version, please visit:

http://iona.ghandchi.com/Groups/17dey.pdf

SMCCDI (Public Statement)
January 5, 2003

The seventh of January 1936 (17th of Dey 1314) is the day
that the old wish of Iran's modernists and Free-thinkers
came true and the freedom-loving women of Iran were
released from the proverbial chain of the enforced veil
(hejab). From that historic day on, Iranian women were able
to attain many of their human rights and citizen rights by
being actively present in the various social, economic, and
political arenas alongside Iranian men-- rights that were
suppressed and violated under [the excuse of] religious
bonds and restrictions.

With the establishment of the fundamentalist theocracy in
Iran, the mullahs with obvious enmity and by establishing
'anti-women' laws and regulations, in the name of religion,
trampled many of the women's obtained rights, and [still]
diligently pursue the return to the retarded and
fundamentalist conditions of a hundred years ago. During
the [near] 24 shameful years of the Islamic Republic's
lifespan, we have witnessed many times that the rulers of
despotism, with various excuses, including the pretext of
confronting the bad 'hejab'-- the Islamic dress code for
women-- have sent their goons and agents of "vice" to the
streets to harass and persecute our mothers and sisters. We
have witnessed how they arrest and humiliate young girls
and boys for being together in public places such as parks
and mountain hiking trails. We [continuously] witness how
the legal rights of women are trampled in the religious
courtrooms of Iran and how against the patriarchal laws of
the mullahs women have no choice but to endure the
oppression. Alongside all these injustices against women we
should add the pain of hunger and extreme poverty: the pain
that has condemned them to selling their bodies and their
children to living on the streets.

Noble and honorable people of Iran:

Despite the executions, stonings, suppressions,
humiliations, and various injustices against the Iranian
women, the noble women of Iran and-- especially-- the
educated women, from the very beginning, have risen to
struggle against the many discriminations and restrictions,
and above all, against the 'enforced hejab,' which has
forced the government to accept obvious setbacks. In order
to end the sexual discriminations and multiple injustices
against our mothers and sisters, to support the continued
struggle of the noble Iranian women and men against the
backward laws and regulations of the religious
fundamentalists, and to honor the Iranian Women's
Liberation Day, on Tuesday, January seventh [17th of Dey]
at 2:00 PM, we will gather together in all the main public
sites of our cities and with our cries of "No to the Veil,
No to Persecution" we will demand the freedom of all the
political prisoners and the observance of a referendum for
establishing a democratic secular government.

Furthermore; on this day, as the pioneers of the civil
disobedience movement, we invite all the free-thinking
Iranian women to toss one of their half-burned headscarves
in the heavily populated streets or squares [of all the
cities] as a sign of protest to the enforced veil.

Long Live Freedom!
Established be Secularism!

January 5, 2003 (15th of Dey 1381)

The "Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy
in Iran" (SMCCDI)

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Neveshtar be Farsi be soorat e PDF dar peyvast mibashad.
Persian/Farsi text is attached in PDF format.

Nazariyat/comments: smccdi@daneshjoo.org