August 5, 1993, marks a milestone in the
struggles of Iranian women, and the Iranian opposition, the PMOI/MEK which
forms the backbone of the democratic alternative to the clerical regime, theNational Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).
On
this day, 24 women were unanimously voted to the PMOI's all-female Leadership
Council to hold the helms of affairs in the organization.
Twelve
years after the beginning of the Iranian Resistance when Iranian women remained
steadfast despite enduring tremendous suffering and torture in their struggle
for freedom and democracy; and four years after Maryam Rajavi became the PMOI's
Secretary General in 1989, this long line of battle-tested women were recognized
as best qualified to rise to the movement's leadership.
The
landmark event drew a clear distinction between the Iranian opposition and its
foe; the former striving for gender equality and women's participation in
leadership and the latter thriving on subjugation of women as a main pillar of
its rule.
The
PMOI was convinced that if it were to overcome Tehran's religious dictatorship,
it would have to cast aside all remnants of fundamentalist ideology and
culture, including male-domination.
Thus,
women's leadership in the PMOI/MEK was not about some women replacing men to
continue in their footsteps with the same values and methods. Rather, women's
participation in the leadership inspired a major cultural transformation in the
ranks of the Resistance and among women all across the country who faced gender
apartheid in all realms of their lives.
As
a result of the struggle of these pioneering women and their valuable
achievements, the world witnessed the hegemonic role of Iranian women in the
course of the 2009 uprising. In fact, three major elements steered women in
that path: years of struggle for freedom and equality; the misogynist nature of
the ruling regime; and the presence of an organized resistance with gender
equality as its ideal.
The
impact of women's leadership and equal participation could also be seen in the
14-year steadfast perseverance of the PMOI/MEK in Iraq, beginning in 2003 when
US invaded Iraq.
Unarmed,
blockaded by an inhuman siege, and subjected to numerous military and rocket attacks
by Iraqi troops at the behest of Tehran's regime, the PMOI's leading women had
the task of defeating the Iranian regime's conspiracies on the one hand and
tapping into the strengths of the organization while avoiding any deviation
from the movement's sole focus on the mullahs’ regime in Iran.
This
was a time when the prospects for victory looked grim. The balance of power in
Iraq and the region was clearly not in their favor. Still, they led the
movement at such volatile times with no past lessons or precedents to draw on.
Through their own vigilance, correct decision-making, risk taking and
self-sacrifice, they led the movement at every turn.
Women’s
leadership, put to test 14 years in camps Ashraf and Liberty, succeeded in the
face of great adversity with courage, endurance and respect for moral values.
The men in this movement, who in their struggle against the male-dominated
culture have reached great peaks of their own, also played a significant role
in the campaign of perseverance owing to their progress in the realm of
humanity.
The
Leadership Council has now grown to become a 1,000-strong Central Council.
Indeed,
women's leadership could not become a lasting institution and tradition without
the support of PMOI/MEK men who have faith in, and are committed to, the ideal
of equality.
Today,
as the social conditions in our homeland, Iran, is simmering with strong
discontent, the message to Iran’s valiant young men is to rise up in defense of
freedom and equality if they want to realize the Iranian people's freedom.
The
fact that women bear the brunt of repression in Iran, reveals the regime's
defensive tactic against the existential threat it feels from women. The
imposition of the mandatory veil on women and flagrant discriminations against
them in educational and vocational arenas are only efforts to enchain women.
Iranian
women have proven their effective and growing role in the struggle against the
mullahs' religious tyranny, in the scenes of confrontation with theRevolutionary Guards, in their unprecedented resistance in the regime's torture
chambers and dungeons, through their presence in the first ranks of
anti-government demonstrations, in organizing the teachers and workers'
protests and protests by other social strata, in organizing and leading an
international social and political movement against the religious fascism
ruling Iran, and in their active assumption of responsibilities in the
organized movement of the Iranian Resistance.
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