I thought the Iranian Revolution would bring freedom. I was wrong. By Shirin Ebadi (Nobel Peace Prize, 2003)
"I write this letter to my daughters and their generation, 41 years after a revolution. I hope you forgive us for the mistake we made.
#LalSalaamComrades #lalsalam /1
"I write this letter to my daughters and their generation, 41 years after a revolution. I hope you forgive us for the mistake we made.
#LalSalaamComrades #lalsalam /1
Although we did not intend it, we have darkened your world.
Yes, we wanted to make the world a better place. We were dreamers. #LalSalaamComrades /2
Yes, we wanted to make the world a better place. We were dreamers. #LalSalaamComrades /2
We dreamed of creating a country where both human rights and human dignity would be guarded by strong democratic institutions.
We thought that we had every RIGHT to translate these beautiful ideas into reality. #LalSaalamComrade /3
We thought that we had every RIGHT to translate these beautiful ideas into reality. #LalSaalamComrade /3
Yet the border between idealism and naïveté is sometimes blurred.
In our IDEALISM, we were naive enough to think that the cleric Ruhollah Khomeini was the man to make our dreams come true. #LalSalaamComrades /4
In our IDEALISM, we were naive enough to think that the cleric Ruhollah Khomeini was the man to make our dreams come true. #LalSalaamComrades /4
It is hard to admit it, but we started to follow him even though we knew very little about his vision for Iran. Millions of people were enchanted by him.
They were captivated by his charisma without reading any of his books or listening to him in an open and free debate. /5
They were captivated by his charisma without reading any of his books or listening to him in an open and free debate. /5
Today, with the benefit of hindsight, most of us can agree that 1979 was not the time for a revolution.
What we needed most was reform, NOT the total destruction of the system. #LalSalaamComrades /6
What we needed most was reform, NOT the total destruction of the system. #LalSalaamComrades /6
In fact, toward the end of the Pahlavi dynasty, we SEEMED to have the right conditions for a meaningful transition. The shah reluctantly appointed Shahpour Bakhtiar, who had spent many years of his life fighting for liberal democracy, as prime minister. #LalSalaamComrades /7
Bakhtiar was determined to be the agent of change. Yet we never gave him a chance.
Our shortsightedness resulted in what we see today. #LalSalaamComrades /8
Our shortsightedness resulted in what we see today. #LalSalaamComrades /8
I WAS NAIVE enough to think that Khomeini, a man with such religious authority, would never lie.
In exile in Paris, before his return to Iran at the beginning of February 1979, he was talking about freedom and prosperity for all. #LalSalaamComrades /9
In exile in Paris, before his return to Iran at the beginning of February 1979, he was talking about freedom and prosperity for all. #LalSalaamComrades /9
Yet as soon as he achieved power, he put severe restrictions on women, excluding half of the population from full participation in society. The very day he started to implement the new laws on women I realized that even a religious leader can be deceitful. #lalsalam /10
I soon started to pay a heavy price for the changes. I had been the first female judge in the era of the shah.
Under THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC, however, the authorities deprived me of the position; in their view, a woman was not capable of sound legal judgment. #lalsalam
Under THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC, however, the authorities deprived me of the position; in their view, a woman was not capable of sound legal judgment. #lalsalam
I owe the young generation a big apology.
They were born into a repressive political system that many idealistic people like me unintentionally HELPED to create. /11
They were born into a repressive political system that many idealistic people like me unintentionally HELPED to create. /11
As we mark the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution this month, I look at the past and wonder why we were unable to create a better society for our children to be born into. /12
They deserved to inherit a fairer society, one capable of creating the institutions to guard human rights and human dignity.
Forty-one years on, I am deeply sorry that you still have to pay such a high price for the mistake we made. /13
Forty-one years on, I am deeply sorry that you still have to pay such a high price for the mistake we made. /13
I hope you can forgive me and the many others who succumbed to the THRILL OF REVOLUTION and did not think about the implications of their actions. #lalsalam #LalSalaamComrades
The above excerpts are from the article. #LalSalaamComrades #lalsalam
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Shah of Iran warning about Islamic marxists.
There are many such in India too trying to espouse an Islamic agenda in the garb of marxism. #lalsalaam #LalSalaamComrades
There are many such in India too trying to espouse an Islamic agenda in the garb of marxism. #lalsalaam #LalSalaamComrades
