Some times I feel ashamed of being from Iran
Baghdad Burning: "�Please dress appropriately next time you come here.� The man said to me. I looked down at what I was wearing- black pants, a beige high-necked sweater and a knee-length black coat. Huh? I blushed furiously. He meant my head should be covered and I should be wearing a skirt. I don�t like being told what to wear and what not to wear by strange men. �I don�t work here- I don�t have to follow a dress code.� I answered coldly"
I feel like I have to apologize to all Iraqi women who are experiencing such requests. River Bend, believe me...We have done a lot to fight these ideas. I am sorry we were not fast enough so we could get rid of them before the American occupation. You know that Iranian women are the majority in universities right now. They are having feminist movements and they are trying to push the limits and red lines that are now part of the culture and are strongly approved by religion. We are doing all we can. I am sorry that my regime owes its existence to making trouble for its neighbors. The generation who did the revolution believed in good causes but it twisted in the wrong direction mostly because people really believed in religion...I think all Muslim nations have to go through this phase so that we can be truly secular nations and don't be afraid of criticizing religion. Once I talked to a guy from Egypt and he thought that having an Islamic regime is the best thing that can happen to them. Now you know what an stupid idea it is. I am sorry because you will probably go through the same experience that Iranian women started 25 years ago. I hope yours lasts shorter.
I feel like I have to apologize to all Iraqi women who are experiencing such requests. River Bend, believe me...We have done a lot to fight these ideas. I am sorry we were not fast enough so we could get rid of them before the American occupation. You know that Iranian women are the majority in universities right now. They are having feminist movements and they are trying to push the limits and red lines that are now part of the culture and are strongly approved by religion. We are doing all we can. I am sorry that my regime owes its existence to making trouble for its neighbors. The generation who did the revolution believed in good causes but it twisted in the wrong direction mostly because people really believed in religion...I think all Muslim nations have to go through this phase so that we can be truly secular nations and don't be afraid of criticizing religion. Once I talked to a guy from Egypt and he thought that having an Islamic regime is the best thing that can happen to them. Now you know what an stupid idea it is. I am sorry because you will probably go through the same experience that Iranian women started 25 years ago. I hope yours lasts shorter.
I should congratulate Mr. Bush for this mess. Instead of a liberal country now we are having our copy paste of Islamic Republic of Iran. I hate not being able to do anything about them creating another Islamic regime in Iraq. That region is racing backwards to dark ages. Thanks to oil, thanks to arrogance, thanks to us not being heard by American public. The media is too loud in here. Today in a bus an old lady, after me telling that I am from Iran, told me that she is very glad to see someone from Iran who is actually a lovely human being..."You know with what we all hear about Iran"...I have never felt so helpless.
posted by Anar @ 1:00 AM
14 comments
14 Comments:
Insightful and interesting post!!!
Thank you joon for sharing your concerns with us....this way we know more news than just what we hear in the media here!!!!
I agree with it. But this doesnt suffice the fact that you be ashamed of being Iranian. If you look back to the human history, it is full of arrogance and big follies, sth not limited to our country. By the way, what is happening in Iran right now is by far more tolerable rather than what happened during WWII in Germany and Japan or during the 90's in Serbia. Iranian people and culture is different from the government and their policies and that's what we should be proud of and others will surely come to.
Dar zemn yadam raft begam man boodam.
Babak!
Anonymous (Babak?) makes a very good point about WWII era Germany and Japan. There are no death camps in Iran. However, I have still read about very dehumanizing treatment of women and girls in Iran: girls as young as nine years old being forced to marry; girls and women being much more likely to be sentenced to death for so called "immorality" crimes; etc. I think that Pantea is quite right in that the average American knows nothing about Iran or its people. All they know is what they hear from the mouth of Bush and his underlings.
Babak joon
I am not ashamed of being Iranian in general. But I am ashamed that we are always troublesome for our neigbours...I felt ashamed when I read how river bend is talking about Iranians messing up in her country. To be clear I am ashamed of my government is doing not from being Iranian.
Iran should be ashamed of a loser like you! If you're not sure about yourself then you can't represent your country well. Shoma jegheleha dastak donbaketoono jam o joor konin bargardin Iroonetoon, injaahaa bedarde shuma nemikhore.
Anonymous,
You are contradicting yourself. First you call me a looser cause I am ashamed of what my government does to my neighbors(and my people) and then you tell me to go back to Iran because I don't deserve to be in United States? I am very clear about my thoughts. I am an Iranian and I am fine with it but that definitely doesn't mean justifying or ignoring the facts about my country that I don't like. I am an Iranian with all the goods and bads it has. I don't hide my nationality in the fear that people might have some prejudice but at the same time I do speak my mind about its weaknesses.
P.S. Please post your comment in English because we have readers who don’t know Farsi.
Well, our neighbours used to make much more trouble for us all these years. Should Iraqi people be ashamed of the war their country broke out with Iran and Kuwait? That's sadam that should be blamed!
Should afghans be ashamed of being the major source of drugs that ruin lives all around the world everyday? That's taliban that should be blamed.
Although I am not an advocate of our government's interference in Iraq, I believe that we havent been so bad to them!!
Again I forgot to mention that I wrote the previous post!
Babak
Babak,
Once, I read somewhere that every nation deserves its government. I don’t totally agree with this statement but I do believe that if a nation is suffering from an unfavorable government it should search for the causes in its values, morals and identity that have resulted in such rulers or it will be sentenced to no change for ever. I believe that having a regime like Islamic Republic of Iran is in fact part of my identity as an Iranian same as having all that good history. The nation of Iran has made some good decisions and some bad ones. The fact that I am condemning those bad decisions is my right and my duty as an Iranian. A good friend is a good critic.
The word ashamed seems to be your main problem…You can read embarrassed or anything else…what I am trying to say is that Iranians are trying to change things…we chose this method of government because, like many other Muslim nations, we thought it’s best for us…now after 26 years we are sure that it was a mistake but it takes time to make changes.
As for your comment about our neighbors, I am sure you have heard this from Mahatma Gandhi: “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind”
Dear Pantea
Accepting the truth and the true nature of a situation is totally hard for Iranians. You are right. I am ashamed to be an Iranian and support terrorists in Lebanon, Iraq and other places. It is all in our accounts!! Not in that peson who says you are (vatan foroosh). He or she is so dumb who sees different thing and different aspect of his or her life.
We should take the responsibility of our government actions. We already are paying it by being named terrorists, stupids and...
People our dying with our oil money and our nation are loosers of this terrible game, Shame on all of us. Children are dying in Isreal, in Baghdad in Lebanon in Palestine. Why should a 16 years old boy or girl kill themselves to be named martyer. And we go to 22nd Bahman and chant the slogan of damn to USA? Now damn to who?
Dear blogger
Interesting post. But... What's your hung up about Iran and being Iranian? There are a billion Muslims, some of Muslim women cover up because they have to, some do because they want to, some of don't at all, some of the women can drive in some Islamic countries, some can't, Islam is a backwards religion, some countries are good, some countries are bad, American people listened, they didn't, red state or not, Islam is great or not -- and the list goes on and on.
Whatever.Don't you have your own problems? Shouldn't you be concentrating on more important things in your life right now? Now you're worried about the Iraqis? You think you can even begin to change the world by a haphazard web-log with a dozen audiences whom are all screwed up in one way or the other?
Move on lady, get on with your life. Don't constantly dwell over what's happened to you in the past or what's happening right now in the Middle East. I'm sure you can change the world in other better ways if you concentrate on the more important and real things in your life.
Best
Dear blog reader,
What is your problem? What do *you* want to change? a blog with a dozen audiences? At least my aspirations are greater than yours...who are you to think that you have to tell me what I should be interested in and what not to be interested in. I don't even see the need to describe why I keep track of the news in Middle East. I think the one who should get on with life is you...find something better to do than unconstructive, haphazard criticizing on small blogs. For a person who even doesn't put a name your comment is too prescriptive.
Don't be ashamed of being Iranian, our neighbours are not nice to us neither!
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