Deconstructing Kari

William Congreve wisely said that “Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned.”  My grandfather once said “the stupidest thing a man can do is turn his back on a woman when she is angry and has scissors in her hand”.  I think both men were quite wise beyond their years.  The leaders in Iran might do themselves a good service to recognize this fact and stop treating the women of their society as weaklings not worthy of fair treatment.

Perhaps the recent occurrences there, in a country deep in the turmoil of an civil uprising, will start to enlighten those antiquated ideas that fill the heads of the leaders of Iran.  Women, once sitting on the sidelines with fear in their eyes and the yearning for freedom in their hearts are taking to the streets.  No longer are they showing their courage by a single strand of hair peaking out from their hijab.  No longer is a flash of crimson painted on their frowns the only way they can express the injustice they face daily.  Enough has finally been enough.

Walking hand in hand with the progressive men of the area that also believe in their cause, these women are peacefully declaring that they should be counted - they should matter - their voice is worthy to be heard. People here in the U.S. might find it hard to understand why this is so revolutionary as we are granted the right of free assembly and the right to free speech no matter our gender.  Things in Iran are not at all like they are here.  The freedoms we take for granted here are things that many Iranian people can only hope to achieve one day.  It seems that the Iranian people are growing tired of hope for change, they are demanding that change and are putting their lives on the line to ask for it.  Many men and women have been brutally beaten and some killed in the name of the change they seek.  May their lives not be lost in vain.

Women, who once used the hijab to adhere to the rules of their rigid society, are now using it to declare their alliance with the revolution.  Green is the color identified with the members of the opposition, those members in alliance with Mir Hossein Mousavi.  These women are placing this green headscarf on and vibrantly declaring their opinion, making their voices heard and rallying for their own freedom.  As an Iranian woman, born here in America, I am impressed, emboldened and encouraged by these brave women.  Their headscarves of green fill me with hope for a better future of the land where my family once called home.  Their hijabs which once represented control and prejudice are now a symbol of something better to come.  I applaud them all, the women taking to the streets and the men standing by their sides screaming for their freedom.