Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Free Majid Tavakoli, Iranian Student Democracy Activist

Be a witness to stand in support of democracy in Iran and, in so doing, let the oppressors know that power acquired through violence is no match for the power of peace.  Please learn about the issue from this blog post, then copy the links and forward them to your friends! 

Let's help the video go viral worldwide! 

On December 7th, 2009, Iranian Ph.D. student Majid Tavakoli was arrested after speaking to a group at his school, the Amirkabir University of Technology.  He was severely beaten at the time of his arrest, and it is reported that he has also been tortured.  It is reported that he was made to dress in women's clothing so that he could be photographed.  An effort was made to use the photos to humiliate him.  The effort backlashed: 

A movement has now begun for men to dress in hijab (a headscarf which is mandatory dress for women in Iran) and publish photographs of themselves on the internet, to express their solidarity with Majid. 

Wikipedia states: 

[Men who dress in hijab in protest to Majid's imprisonment] are calling for an end to Iran’s mistreatment of prisoners including Tavakoli. At the same time they are also sending a strong a message of solidarity with women in their fights for equal rights. One message echoed by many Iranian men was "until Iranian women are free, Iran will not be free. Iranian men: let's begin wearing the chador in solidarity with Majid AND the WOMEN of Iran".

One woman writes in commentary to the YouTube video (above): 

Never been this proud of our men. You guys define the word Ma'arefat. You proved that in this world it is possible to be manlier by dressing up as women. Our values have made a huge heap into the future and we are all riding the waves of this amazing cultural revolution, thanks to Majid and thanks to all these brave, honorable men.

Another person writes,

man ham majid tavakoli hastam, ich bin auch ein majid tawakoli, i am majid tavakoli, hameye mardome iran majide tawakoli hastan, drod be majide gahreman, nango nefrin bar welayate jahlo siyahiye waghih dar tamamiyatash az khomeiniye dajal ta khameneiye shirei, jawido sarboland irano irani

Join me in affirming, with the cloud of witnesses, "I am Majid".  Please forward this link to your friends. 

Technorati Tags: ,,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment!