On Jan. 31, Roya Hakakian, an Iranian-American writer and activist, spoke at a Boston College Event hosted by the BC Lowell Humanities Series. Hakakian, a feminist writer, presented on the plight of women in Israel and particularly Iran.
She started her speech by discussing how misogyny in Iran has been put in the international limelight over the past few years and brought up victims of Iran’s harsh laws against women.
Drawing a comparison to Emmett Till, Hakakian considered the murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in a hospital after attaining severe injuries from the morality police for not correctly wearing her hijab.
Hakakian delved into the life of Till and Amini, stating that they are “extraordinary victims,” capable of sparking massive human rights movements.
“They could have been anyone’s child, or sibling,” Hakakian stated. “They were relatable because they were so ordinary. That’s why they became the symbols of their respective movements.”
The point Hakakian makes of symbols is insightful, especially given that every movement needs a narrative and emotion behind it. A person or an extraordinary victim can effectively serve as a symbol.
Hakakian then delves into the historical context of the situation, speaking about Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, who took over Iran in 1979, promising equality for women. However, after being named the Supreme Leader of Iran, he installed sexist laws such as mandatory dress codes for women; when asked about his promise of equality, he simply stated, “I lied.”
The Iranian public had mixed feelings about him, according to Hakakian. In general, women protested against him, in contrast with the support he received from men. That being said, Khomeini still garnered the approval of some women across the country.
After she provided the audience with historical context, Hakakian shared a personal experience of institutionalized sexism being perpetrated by a woman, her former school principal, who was giving the class a lecture on feminine physical expression.
The principal said that showing more skin than is outlined by the government made one an “abomination,” and that if you break the dress code, “you are no longer a child of Allah but a child of Satan.”
Hakakian used this example to show the extent to which sexism is embedded in Iranian institutions and the failure of feminism to correct it. Hakakian criticized feminists around the world for not pushing against the abuse of the Iranian government and accepting their justification of this sexism as the preservation of Muslim culture.
Hakakian expressed her anger that many feminists are too afraid to challenge the Iranian regime due to the concern of sounding Islamophobic.
The feminist writer concluded her speech with this line, “We must defend the right of Muslims in the US while opposing totalitarian Islamic regimes across the world… Only then will we mend broken feminism.”
Stay classy San Diego
