BEGIN:VCALENDAR METHOD:PUBLISH CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:-//EVDB//www.eventful.com//EN VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:Vanguard: Women in the Iranian Election Campaign and Prot est in Washington DC at Ronald Reagan Building &Int. Trade Ctr. - Even tful BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20090713T090000 DTSTAMP:20090815T200751Z SUMMARY:Vanguard: Women in the Iranian Election Campaign and Protest DESCRIPTION: Tohidi gave an overview on women’s role in Iranian politics in order to understand their role in the recent election and subsequent protests. She explained that Iran’s engagement in g ender politics is not a new phenomenon\, but rather a culmination of w omen’s quiet involvement in Iranian politics over the last cent ury. Tohidi said that the women most active in the recent uprising ten ded to be younger\, urban-educated\, middle class\, and of secular ori entation\, although women of all ages and social strata cohesively par ticipated in the campaigns and post-election protests. She found signi ficance in the diverse background of the movement’s icon\, Neda Agha-Soltan\, the young woman who was shot and killed in the streets of Tehran by the Basij during the protests and who aptly personified t he movement’s ambitions and composition. According to Tohidi\, the significance of female participation in the recent election lies i n the non-segregated manner in which it was carried out\, with both ge nders rallying for a common cause and exposing themselves to the same risks. Tohidi also insisted that Iran’s newly emerging politica l culture is distinct from that of the Islamic revolution in that it i s non-violent\, non-revolutionary\, non-gendered\, and globalized. Toh idi attributed the growing presence of women in Iranian politics to se veral domestic factors\, including Iran’s changing demographics \, a growing middle-class\, declining birthrates\, increase in womenà ¢€™s higher education\, changes in sexual mores\, and high unemploy ment in the formal sector. Haghighatjoo described women in Iran as à¢Â€Âœagents of change.” She said that the present “green revolution” is deeply rooted in the role that women played in the 1997 election that brought reformist candidate Khatami to power. S he explained that women in Iran have often found themselves on the fro nt line of political change because they have had to bear the brunt of the repressive measures and general disregard for human rights impose d by the Islamic regime and are\, therefore\, more familiar with the w eaknesses in the current political system. However\, Haghighatjoo insi sted that women’s impact on politics extends beyond their votin g numbers\; women are increasingly holding positions in parliament and other government offices\, although Ahmadinejad’s incumbency h as posed serious challenges to women in the public sphere. Haghighatjo o credits Mousavi’s wife\, Dr. Zahra Rahnavard\, for jumpstarti ng the “vigorous and zealous” participation of women in the elections and the “green” movement to effect politic al change. She proceeded to comment on the widespread global turnout f or the July 9 demonstrations\, which commemorated the tenth anniversar y of the “18 Tir” massacre of Tehran University students . She interpreted the mass participation as a symbol of solidarity aga inst the Iranian authorities. Haghighatjoo\, like the other panelists\ , says she is reassured by the unison of female and male voices agains t both the electoral results and the regime status quo\, concluding by saying that\, “the Green Veil encompasses the whole country.à ¢€ Lackner-Gohari gave an activist perspective on the women†™s movement in Iran and examined the factors behind its broad effect. In order to understand the strength of the women’s movement\, L ackner-Gohari explored the obstacles that it has overcome. She conclud ed that the myriad of legal and societal hurdles that exist for women in Iran have energized women and effectively operated as desperate mot ors to action. Lackner-Gohari also pointed to unconditional family sup port\, an increase in higher education\, and fine-tuned communication skills as resources for the women’s movement in Iran. According to Lackner-Gohari\, the various strategies used by Iranian women to r ally their cause are unprecedented. She discussed the role of the glob al community in the fight for gender justice in Iran\, drawing on her experience as an activist based in Vienna\, Austria working on Iranà¢Â€Â™s women’s issues. Lackner-Gohari emphasized the importance of portraying the face of Iranian women to the world through various acts of solidarity\, including mass protests such as the Global Day of Action for Iran scheduled for July 25. However\, she concluded by ack nowledging that ultimately the fate of Iranian women is in their own h ands\, reciting the proverb: “No one is going to scratch my bac k except for the nail on my own finger”.Moruzzi emphasized the nature of the reformist movement in Iran as a broad-based movement cut ting across gender\, age\, and economic status. She described the move ment as “entrenched” and “organic” and str essed that it signifies the resurgence of a collective Iranian identit y\, a phenomenon that first appeared after the election of Khatami. Sh e proceeded to explore what factors have made it possible for women to take a leading role in this movement in the aftermath of the disputed election. Moruzzi asserted that\, contrary to the legal measures that relegate women to second-class citizens\, material social conditions indicate that Iranian women are healthy\, literate\, educated\, and we ll-equipped to take part in public life. According to Moruzzi\, women have been laying the foundation for political activism in the Islamic Republic for the past decade by building a strong coalition of womenà ¢€™s groups\, an effort that Moruzzi claimed has taken on new vigor in the past two years. Moruzzi also remarked that the “mixed m ovement” has given Iranians\, particularly Iranian women\, a ne w face in the world’s eye. In response to a question regarding US policy on Iran\, Moruzzi explained that now is not the time for the US to pursue a policy of engagement with Iran. Although Moruzzi was a strong proponent of US engagement with Iran prior to the June 12 elec tion\, she argued that opening talks with Iran now\, after the 30 year dry-spell\, would only legitimize Ahmadinejad’s unstable regim e.Pari Esfandiari discussed her experience reporting on women’s issues in Iran during and after the June 12 election. She explained t hat\, as a nonpartisan reporter\, her main goal was to portray an accu rate picture of the political landscape in Iran\, with special attenti on to the strong presence of women in the election campaigns and prote sts. She touched on five subjects that she deemed important to conside r when reporting on women in Iran: women as emerging political leaders \, women as voters\, the role of women’s coalitions\, the role of communication and internet\, and the role of art and pop culture. A fter the post-election crackdown on journalists\, Esfandiari said her organization had to “be more creative” in their methods. She also said that after the government tried to suppress Iranian pro testers\, sometimes violently\, IranDokht could no longer remain nonpa rtisan and became dedicated to exposing the unrest to the outside worl d and reminding Iranian protestors that they had broad international s upport. Esfandiari concluded by pointing out that today the symbol of the color green has moved beyond Mousavi’s campaign and become the color of an uprising that is “grassroots\, organic\, colorf ul\, fluid\, and persistent” â€" all feminine characteristi cs\, she pointed out. Drafted by Nader Mehran and Anna Van Hollen on b ehalf of the Middle East Program LOCATION:Ronald Reagan Building &Int. Trade Ctr. @ 1300 Pennsylvania A venue NW Washington D C 2004, Washington, District of Columbia 20004 U nited States SEQUENCE:1250366871 UID:E0-001-022651603-6 URL:http://eventful.com/E0-001-022651603-6 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR