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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Influential Women's Magazine Silenced in Iran |
| 2008-02-10 |
| Iran's most influential women's magazine, Zanan, has become the latest victim of a government intent on censoring, harassing and imprisoning opponents, journalists in particular. Officials accused the monthly journal of damaging society by being too negative toward Iran and closed the publication Jan. 28. Zanan is hardly alone, of course. Iranian courts have used similar rationale to close many scores of newspapers and magazines in the last 10 years, particularly those that called for free speech and greater civil liberties. But Zanan, which means "women" in Farsi, was one of a kind; it was the only serious women's magazine in Iran and had a wide following, both in Iran and around the world. Zanan's crusading editor, Shahla Sherkat, who lives in Tehran, founded the magazine 16 years ago to explore serious topics that affect women in the Islamic Republic: politics, women in prison, international issues affecting women and the impact Islamic law has on women's lives. Sherkat also ran book reviews, stories about women in sports and health issues, among other topics. Both Zanan and Sherkat were survivors. Many journalists were amazed that Sherkat managed to keep her magazine open so long, especially since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005. In the last 18 months alone the government has closed 42 magazines and newspapers, according to Fariba Amini, the editor of the Persian version of IJNet, a Web page for the International Center for Journalists, based in Washington. "Shekat knew how to walk the red line," Camelia Entekhabi-Fard, an Iranian journalist, said on Feb. 6. The "red line" is code for the boundary in Iran between writing the truth in acceptable and unacceptable ways. "Walking that line is an art form," Entekhabi-Fard said, one that Sherkat understood better than anyone. Only time will tell whether the shutdown is temporary or permanent. If it's temporary it could be because the press advisory board that shut down Zanan doesn't have the legal authority to take such a step, Tohidi said. But the political atmosphere is becoming increasingly tense as Iran, burdened with high unemployment, inflation and food shortages, faces nationwide elections March 14. Sherkat, in the face of constant intimidation, always found a way to write about the truth of what was happening. It will be a tragedy for Iran, journalism and women everywhere if her voice is silenced for long. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #1 Outrage in America's University Womens Departments in 9, 8, 7...oh, wait, never mind. You think if we point out that Persian males are aligned by come anthropologists in the same gene family as white North American males they'd pay attention? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-02-10 09:27 |