Words are no longer enough to get the attention of oppressive governments like the Islamic Republic of Iran. A naked picture and video however, will not only ban you from returning to Iran but it will also have the entire Iranian community scrutinizing you for either how shameless you are or how brave you are.
Golshifteh Farahani is a 28 year old Paris-based Iranian actress who recently posed semi-nude in French magazine, Madame Le Figaro. The picture of Golshifteh sparked enormous internet buzz and a rather unwelcoming reaction from the Iranian government stating she is never welcome back to Iran. There is nothing surprising about the government response but what is striking is the rather international response to the exposure of this photo. The global response brings a sense of empowerment and hope to the Iranian people that people are watching. Knowing this, Iranians are further empowered to push back every time the government resists, neglects and oppresses their people.
The power that was once taken away from the innocent people is slowly being claimed back through different means of protests. No longer will people be complacent and allow governments to control what they can and cannot do. This libertarian movement and resistance against Islamic oppression has pushed women to take their clothes off in a loud attention grabbing way.
You would think this fight has made enough noise for governments to back down but that is not the case quite yet. Though the government continues to deny basic rights, the movement towards freedom is evident in a backwards type of way where the resistance of the government in fact further exposes the oppressive strictures of the government to the rest of the world. This spotlight presents a subtle yet powerful shift from government to individual. The momentum of this shift was sparked by the 2009 Green Movement, a powerful civil obedience movement challenging the system of the Iranian regime. Since then, the Islamic republic of Iran has left people with no choice but to disobey and defend fundamental human rights.
Notably, the struggle for democracy is not only seen in Iran. The Arab Spring sparked region wide protests calling for freedom, democracy, equality, liberty and finally, an end to tyranny.
Not too long ago did we see the picture of Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmhady posing nude as a “scream against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy.” In solidarity with Elmahdy, a group of 40 Israeli women posed nude holding a sign that read “Homage to Aliaa El Mahdi. Sisters in Israel’ with the slogan “Love without limits,” written in Arabic and Hebrew.
All of these women are using their bodies to deliver a message of dissent towards gender segregated governments. But even bigger than that, they are taking a stance for the entirety of humanity. It is for these people that one day we will be able to look back to history and understand the significance of these steps to equality in the Middle East.
For now, if the governments are going to continue to suppress people of their basic and civil rights, the world should expect more brave people like Farahani to protest for their rights.
As Charlie Chaplin said in the 1940 film The Great Dictator “liberty will never perish” but hopefully one day, tyranny will. Humanity has advanced much too far to let people suffer in despair. Whether it is through a letter, a street protest or through a naked photograph, each step is equally important in this protest for change.
http://arashdaklan.blog.com/2012/01/28/to-facebook-team-we-will-take-the-case-to-a-court-in-france-if-facebook-does-not-pay-attention/
This is strange that this photo has been discerned as one example of violating this standard. What in that photo was about pornography? That photo was a way of showing opposition to a culture in a society. It was and is a way of showing what we think it is wrong in our society. It seems that facebook team does not understand and even does not bother itself to try to understand what is going on. The photo that a half of it is a man and a half a woman what can have with pornography. There are a lot of painting in the world which by the same standard can be seen as pornographic and in result publishing these paintings on facebook should be forbidden. This the the strategy that Islamic Republic of Iran has been using in its entire history. When we saw what facebook has done for the first time I asked myself if Ahmadinejad has any influential role in facebook team.
On Friday 28 January 2012 Iranian intelligent agencies have gone to my father’s house in Iran demanding my contact details just because of what I write. I and my wife, we are Iranian writers, we have escaped from a totalitarian political system and we cannot tolerate any totalitarian manner. Facebook should contact anybody who it thinks that this individual is violating its standards, and for any reason that it is not possible for facebook to do this, then it is better to shut down its website and go home. We consider this action of facebook as violating our dignity and our individuality and our individual rights.
That photo was not and is not a pornographic photo, and we say frankly that facebook should apologize us in public for what we consider as dishonor, unless we will take the case to a court in France and we will do our best to convince the court that facebook team should compensate for violating our dignity.
If facebook team does not understand your way of showing opposition to the culture of a society, then, explain your way and the message behind postng this photo. Any way, would it harm your message if the half man and half women were in dress?
Difference between liberty\libertarians and liberalism\liberals: libertarians chose their dress; liberals take their dress off.
Why does she cover her breasts? Isn’t she a full liberal?
Hi Saif, thanks for reading. I’m not sure why she chose to cover her breasts but I think the intent of the picture was her message and not the actual photo or how she posed. Liberal or not, her message was loud and clear.
Hi Sonja, thanks for posting my comments and for replying to one. I think you would like to revise your information about the Egyptian society and the Egyptians. Egypt had a corrupted regime, which was removed (mostly). I have much to say about your article (if you want), though ,for now, I have a question: since part of you is Iranian, would you pose nude in solidarity with Farahani?
Regards.
Saif, thanks for your comments. Regarding your question, no – I would not pose nude, I will however use my words to express full support for Farahani and all other women who need/deserve it.
Sonja, thanks for your answer, which is as I expected. But, I think you have the unquestioned right to support her case according to your confidence, though you should disapprove her act. For sure, she caused embarrassment and shame to her family: mother, father, brothers, sisters, …, and specialy her son (if any). I know that liberals don’t like to mention God, but, she disobeyed Him.
Regards.
I’m struggling to reconcile your praise here for people-powered protests with your comments on Qaddafi in the other piece I just read (on “the black man’s burden”). Is it that you don’t believe Libyans rose up against him at all, or just that NATO had ulterior motives for intervening? If the latter, then I wouldn’t disagree…
Hi Jillian, thank you very much for reading and commenting. The reason why you may be confused about my stance here is because The Black Man’s Burden was actually written by a Guest Writer, Garikai Chengu, and this article was written by me. In my effort to raise awareness and use this site as a media platform to display different voices and perspectives, I appreciate diverse perspectives of all writers. Thanks for visiting my website!