Far From Iran, a Struggle to Stay Involved

[iandhr]

Source: NY TIMES

A political tract hammered out by an Iranian feminist this spring presents a snapshot of activism from exile.


Incensed by an aging ayatollah’s pronouncement that women exposing excessive flesh cause earthquakes, the young lawyer, who fled to Germany after her arrest in Iran, fired off a Web post accusing all Iranian men of complicity in the oppression of women propagated by the ayatollahs.

The screed went viral instantly, provoking a global debate among Iranians, with countless men denouncing the premise. But the furor soon died, underscoring the quandary faced by former high-ranking reformist politicians, journalists, academics, student leaders and others who have sought safety abroad since the contested presidential election in June 2009.

The Web keeps them involved with events inside Iran, easing some of the isolation of life in exile. Still, they can no longer directly confront the government in the Islamic republic, where widespread bloody repression has left the opposition Green Movement with an uncertain future. From Ankara, Turkey, to Oslo to New York, the exiles struggle to remain relevant, hoping that by reflecting on past experience they can somehow shape whatever future emerges.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/world/middleeast/28exiles.html?_r=1&hp

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" an aging ayatollah’s pronouncement that women exposing excessive flesh cause earthquakes"


What king of country allows people like in power?