Neda Agha Soltan, a 27 year old Iranian female who was shot dead in the heart by militia during the 2009 Green Movement became the face of Iran’s struggle. In June 2009, along with three others, Neda was caught in traffic when she was on her way to the protests. She got out of the car for some fresh air and that’s when it all happened. [1]Neda was shot dead in the heart and the last 40 seconds of Neda’s life were captured on a cell phone video and broadcasted internationally via Youtube within minutes.
The idea of having a female protestor with something to say is an image that the brutal Iranian state has tried to hide. Neda is the face of post modernism, social media and a new Iran where women too are entitled to their rights. No longer are the filters of main stream media blinding us, we are now seeing a firsthand affair of an innocent woman being murdered. From the streets of Iran, captured on a cell phone, transmitted online and downloaded on a laptop in mere seconds, Neda displays the power of the post modern community. Within hours it had become one of the most potent threats faced by the Iranian regime in 30 years.[2] Agreeing with Marshall McLuhan’s “global village,” the world has been contracted into a village through electronic technology.[3] During June of 2009, her death had “become the rallying cry of the Iranian rebellion.”[4] The true power of social media, particularly video, was demonstrated through the uncensored grisly images of blood spreading across Neda’s face. In social media, there are no actors, there are no filters, there are no opinions and or biases, it is raw and it is real.
Neda symbolized more than just social media and the post modern community. She quickly became the symbol for the opposition during the Green Movement where her face was a symbol for the millions of youth who suffered the same oppressions by the regime. Her innocent death was a visual piece of evidence revealing the intimidation, force and violence the Iranian security forces use against everyday citizens of Iran. The story of Neda is truly only one of thousands of examples that show the unjustified behavior of the Islamic Republic. Ahmadinejad’s reaction to the iconic victim of the Iranian government crackdown was expressed to Fars News Agency in 2009 when he said that “the massive propaganda of the foreign media, as well as other evidence, proves the interferences of the enemies of the Iranian nation who want to take political advantage and darken the pure face of the Islamic Republic.”[5] This statement alone by the President of Iran shows the direct threat media like Youtube pose to the state. Besides the thousands of journalists imprisoned, international journalists are banned from Iran because the regime does not tolerate the voice of the “satanic” West. This resistance to the West drives more and more citizens to the internet where they find their second identity. The virtual identity is a sign of disrespect to the state as anything Western is deemed un-Iranian. This war between the state and the internet has driven youth away from the government but towards foreign influenced media. Blocking internet sites and preventing internet usage is a failed approach by the state to gain the trust and respect it expects from its citizens.
We are all Neda.
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[1] BBC. Death Video woman ‘targeted by militia.’ June 22, 2009.
[2] Weaver, Matthew. The Guardian. How Neda Agha-Soltan became the face of Iran’s struggle.
[3] Living Internet. Marshall McLuhan Forsees The Global Village.
[4] Kennedy, Helen. NY Daily News. Neda young girl brutally killed in Iran becoming symbol of rebellion. June 22, 2009.
[5] CNN. Ahmadinejad: Neda’s death is ‘suspicious’. June 29, 2009.
I remember hearing about Neda when her tragic death first took place. North America doesn’t see things this relatable often and when we do we are in disbelief. As Sonja writes the immensely popular takeover of social media has finally opened up the opportunity for us to view a more unfiltered glimpse at the people like us who are suffering in other social structures. And that’s just it, these people suffering are like us, we all share commonalities being a part of the human race. Dependent on the locations where we are born and live in, our rights are determined by the mentalities pre-established around us. Although as we break down the walls put up to keep us blind by “Big Brother” appointed powerful leaders & figures we begin to see that, cultural differences aside, we have so much in common with Neda and the millions of others like her. Neda was someone’s best friend, someone’s daughter, someone’s first crush. Neda is me. If I were born in her surroundings I may have believe the lie that women don’t have the right to speak up and stand up for what we believe in… Yet knowing myself I would live a life like hers & know I deserve to have my own opinions and to support them with actions. And sadly because of the constrictive government set up which dominates the mindset in her country I too could also be shot for standing against the lies and polluted beliefs which error the great nation of Iran. I too, being born in her shoes, could have had to be the innocent casualty which helped expose a ruling that disregards human rights. But instead I am a Canadian/American citizen who has the freedom of speech & many other freedoms. And as I realize my fortunate birth right, I realize there is so much more that I can be doing with these freedoms.