Maryam Mirzakhani: An Iranian Inspiration!

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37-year-old Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman to win what is considered the Nobel Prize of Mathematics – the Fields Medal.

The medalist is a Harvard PhD graduate. She is currently a professor at Stanford University.

Mirzakhani’s passion for Mathematics started during the Iran-Iraq war. Although she “did poorly in math” during her early middle-school years, as reported in her interview with The Guardian, she later on became very passionate about it thanks to her brother.

As Mirzakhani was publically declared the winner of this year’s medal, most newspapers were more interested in her Iranian nationality and her background. For many, the fact that Mirzakhani is Iranian is as fascinating as being the first woman to be awarded with such a prestigious medal.

According to Mirzakhani, she owes a lot to her years in Iran where her school principle she describes as a “strong-willed woman” “was willing to go a long way to provide us with the same opportunities as the boys' school”. Nonetheless, she thinks that if she was born 10 years earlier, she might not have had the same opportunities that she was given. Mirzakhani praised the educational system in Iran: “I should say that the education system in Iran is not the way people might imagine here. As a graduate student at Harvard, I had to explain quite a few times that I was allowed to attend a university as a woman in Iran. While it is true that boys and girls go to separate schools up to high school, this does not prevent them from participating say in the Olympiads or the summer camps”. Above all, her success comes from the fact that the she was always encouraged by her parents and by her passion and dedication.

The little kid who dreamed of becoming a writer is now one of the most influential people in the scientific world. She is also an inspiration for many women coming from modest or repressed societies. Her achievement is a light of hope for many women in Iran and in the Arab countries fighting for their right to education and freedom.

Pascale Asmar

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The Iranian Sinful Kiss

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It is that simple “you kiss someone on the cheek and the next day you face a call to be publicly flogged.”

That is what happened with Iranian actress Leila Hatami when she gave Giles Jacob, Cannes festival president, a perk on the cheek.  Leila Hatami is the star of the Oscar-winning movie “A Separation” directed by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

Leila Hatami was condemned for “representing a bad image of Iranian women”. In addition to that, Hizbullah’s students (a group related to Iran’s revolutionary guards) called Ms. Hatami to be sued and to be flogged for kissing a strange man.

 “We, the undersigned, who are a group of student Muslim brothers and sisters, ask the cultural and media branch of the judiciary to prosecute Leyla Hatami for her sinful act of kissing a strange man in public, which according to article 638 of Islamic Criminal Justice carries a prison sentence. Furthermore, the action of this film star has hurt the religious sentiments of the proud and martyrs breeding nation of Iran and as such we also demand the punishment of flogging for her as stipulated in the law", reported The Telegraph.

According to the Iranian Sharia, women are not supposed to have physical contact with an unrelated man and they are supposed to wear Hijab and to hide their hair.  During the Cannes festival, Ms. Hatami did violate both rules!

I am not defending Ms. Hatami because she is a woman; I just want to tell you that things like this still happen in the world: a woman may be flogged for kissing a man or for showing her hair. What is happening in Iran is unacceptable, and it is an unjustified violation for human’s rights. I consider Ms. Hatami lucky because her position as a movie star will give her case a wider media attention. These same acts of iniquity are targeting a huge number of Iranian citizens. A serious intervention is required; Ms. Hatami’s case may be a great opportunity to get the world’s true attention of what is happening in Iran.

Rihab

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Do you wear your Hijab?

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A huge number of women all around the world are the victims of injustice, of social and moral constraints and of religious systems. They are either living in a jail or used in marketing!

In Iran, it is illegal for a woman to be in public without wearing the Hijab. This rule in clothing is not only forced by "the morality police but also out of consideration for family, and the fear of being questioning by others". 

Masih Alinejad, an Iranian Journalist who left Iran in 2009 to pursue her studies in UK started a campaign "Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian women" by posting her photo driving a car without wearing The Hijab.

The Facebook page owned by MS. Alinejab shares the photos of Iranian women without wearing Hijab in public places "I was sure that most Iranian women who don’t believe in the forced Hijab have enjoyed freedom in secret, so I asked them if they wished to share this moment of stealth freedom."

The Photos shared on facebook were captioned by expressions that show a great need for freedom and reflect the deep sufferings of these women.

"Blowing of the wind through their hair is my nation's girls dream"

"After a few years of being away from my nation, I stepped on its vast plains again; not stealthily though. Hoping for the day when all my nation’s women can taste freedom with their whole bodies and souls"

"It is not easy at all to be called a whore just because you do not wear Hijab! and then even get beaten and be given a detention!
It is not easy to have to experience all the good feelings stealthily."

Being with or against Hijab is not the question!

Everyone should have the right to decide what to wear, nothing should be legislated or enforced on women. The freedom of choice is a sacred right and it should not be questioned. 

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