KENNETH MOKGATLHE
Alexandra Kollantai, a highly prominent woman in the Bolshevik Party and the first woman in history to become a member of a governing cabinet, once said: “I always believed that the time inevitably must come when a woman will be judged by the same moral standards applied to man.
“For it is not her specific virtue that gives her a place of honour in human society, but the worth of the useful mission accomplished by her, the worth of her personality as a human being, as a citizen, as a thinker, as a fighter.”
In today’s world, women of Kollantai’s calibre are needed to stand up against the oppression and repressive laws which women are subjected to in Iran. For a very long time, women and girls in Iran have been treated as second-class citizens on the watch of the global community.
It is astounding that in this day and age, girls between the ages of 10 and 14 are subjected to child marriages, women are not allowed to watch sports, and are also subjected to domestic violence.
There have been nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died in a hospital in Tehran, the Iranian capital. Her death followed her arrest for not wearing the hijab in accordance with the standards of the religious morality police of Iran’s government.
The crucial founding ideology of the Islamic Republic is an obsession to control the female body and to demean women and girls in general.
The popular protests sparked by Amini’s death at the hands of the Iranian authorities are being seen as possible agents of change in that country, which is already facing many problems such as inflation and a democratic deficit. People are calling for a change in the repressive regime.
While the world sympathises with the struggle of women and girls in Iran, the South African government is pushing for a state visit by the Iranian president in 2023. This was requested by President Cyril Ramaphosa, to strengthen relations.
But the Iranian regime ascribes to values that are diametrically opposed to the principles on which the South African Constitution is based – democratic, egalitarian principles, including alleviating the plight of women. We know the role that women played in the emancipation of this country.
South Africa does not stand for the same values as Iran.
In her response to Freedom Front Plus’s Dr Petrus Mulder’s question on this in Parliament, the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco), Naledi Pandor, said: “South Africa makes its views heard in different forums, depending on the context and individual incidents. We will engage with Iran on concerns we have regarding discrimination and violence against women.”
The South African government’s double standards are tiring. Pandor has labelled Israel as “implementing apartheid”. She has never treated Israel the way she is treating Iran. Unlike Israel, where women enjoy full equality, Iran is explicitly discriminating against its female population.
One of the remarkable fighters against colonialism in Burkina Faso, the late president, Thomas Sankara, said: “The revolution and women’s struggle go together.”
Women of Iran and the world, stand up for your rights!
*Mokgatlhe is a writer and social commentator