Take Action!

Thursday, 08. 6. 2009  –  By Janice  –  2 Comments

Take Action!

Take Action: A resource for activists

Tell friends about The Stoning of Soraya M:

1. Download letter/email template here.
2. Send an e-card from the Moral Courage Project

Use your name. Sign these online petitions:

1. One Million Signatures campaign: Started by women in Iran to stop stoning, the campaign seeks signatures from people around the world and will be presented to the United Nations.
2. Stop child executions in Iran: There are currently at least 134 minors on death row in Iran. Sign this petition, to be sent to Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki-moon, Ayatollah Khamenei and Head of the Judiciary of Iran, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi. Movement started by a friend of the MCP, Nazanin Afshin-Jam.
3. United Against a Nuclear Iran: A bi-partisan, broad based effort to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, founded by Obama advisors. Sign the petition to show your support in addressing this pressing issue.
   

Contact your representatives:

1. Stop Child Marriage: ask your representatives to co-sponsor the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009.
2. The Afghan Women Empowerment Act: If passed, this Act will provide critical resources for Afghan women for literacy education, technical and vocational training and health care services that would reduce maternal and infant mortality. The bill will also fund programs to protect women and girls against sexual and physical abuse. Ask your representatives to co-sponsor this bill today!

Use your pen. Tell local papers about the film:

1. Write your local paper to tell them about the film: Download template here
2. Use a published article to introduce the film: Download sample letter here, written in response to "Violence against women a world wide crisis" by Emily Ngo

Donate

1. Women for Afghan Women
2. Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan

Educate.

1. See our "Issue Fact Sheet" for statistics and facts to help you educate yourself to talk about violence against women.
2. Visit the new United Nations Violence Against Women Database to learn about "the extent, nature and consequences of all forms of violence against women, and on the impact and effectiveness of policies and programmes for, including best practices in, combating such violence."
3. Visit the honor killings database at the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women to read up to date information about honor killings that happen around the globe.

Help! I am new to blogging, where do I start?

Friday, 07. 31. 2009  –  By Janice  –  Comments Off

Expressing yourself publicly on blogs can be a daunting experience, especially if you are new to the world of blogging and online activism.

Part of the mission of the Moral Courage Project is to encourage and promote the free exchange of ideas. Because this is so important to us we have created the following list of "tips" for new bloggers with the hope that more readers will take the plunge and start using blogs such as ours as a platform for critical thought and self-expression.

Practicing expressing yourself online is the perfect way to obtain more self confidence and be morally courageous in all aspects of life! We hope this will be a helpful resource and welcome any feedback on what the MCP can do to help new bloggers.

Tips for new bloggers

1) Where do I leave my comments?

Click here for easy to follow instructions on responding to posts on www.moralcourage.com.

2) Start small.

The best way to get used to blogging is to join, or start a conversation by leaving a comment on one of our posts. MCP offers a safe, supportive place to express yourself. The more you practice by sharing conversations the easier and more fun it will become.

"I leave comments on blogs to correct any mis-information I feel needs to be challenged, to educate people on topics that I feel I have a good amount of knowledge about, to bring up other related but neglected issues, and to test my theories and stances on things by making them public and allowing other people who care about the issue to criticize me and bring new ideas to light that I may have never thought about. It’s all about having an open mind and the pursuit of the truth whether convenient or not. The pursuit of truth is, or should be, the holy grail of the blogosphere!"–AnthonyNYC

3) Don’t post and run

Readers don’t like bloggers who don’t respond to comments.  You don’t have to respond to each comment individually, but you should be engaging your readers.

4) Be brave, support each other. Blogging can be tough, because people often act more aggressively online than they would in person. If you are feeling nervous about sharing your opinions, take the plunge!

An open mind is a terrible thing to waste. All you have to lose are your misconceptions.

"I'm not much of a blogger so I was hesitant to post anything on the Moral Courage website at first. Although I do consider myself a writer, I was strangely intimidated by the thought of posting my opinion on there. After posting my first reply, however, I felt very comfortable expressing myself on the site. I encourage anyone who feels they have something to say about any of the topics listed, to go ahead and post your opinion no matter how strange, random or irrelevant it may seem to you, lol. After the first post, it gets easier." GenesisBe

5) Prime the pump

Oftentimes, readers don’t comment on a site because they are waiting to see what the culture of that blog is like.  Nobody likes to get shot down.  But there is also a kind of herd mentality – people will sit back and wait for someone else to make a comment first. We can support one another’s writing by priming the pump and leaving comments on one another’s posts.

6) Shorter=better. Really!

Short posts and comments receive more views and prompt more responses because they are easier to read. If you have a lot to say about a topic, consider writing a blog post about it, or breaking one post into several. Be creative; consider writing a “series” of posts related to the same topic.

If you have a lot to say when responding to a post or comment, save some of your thoughts and spread them over the length of the conversation. Remember, the goal is to facilitate dialog, if you have a lot to say you don’t have to say it all at once.

7) Use specific headlines. If writing a blog post, use a title that is creative and specific as possible. Readers want to know what a post is about before they will start to read.

If you are responding to a post, consider using a creative title to attract people to your comment and solicit a response.

Share a conversation, start a global dialog.

Get started today!

Bring Soraya to my theater!

Tuesday, 07. 28. 2009  –  By Janice  –  2 Comments

How can I bring The Stoning of Soraya M. to my local theater?

As an independent film, The Stoning of Soraya M. is being released on a limited basis (click here for theaters). While the success of the film has allowed the its release to expand into many markets in the U.S. and was recently released in Canada, there are many who are interested in Soraya’s story but do not have access to the film, including in areas where the film is banned. Many visitors to our website have asked us what they can to share The Stoning of Soraya M. with their community and get it shown at their local theater.

One effective and easy way to share Soraya’s story with your community is to write a brief letter to the editor of your local paper. This is a quick way to make a lot of people aware of the film and create buzz.

Such letters can be altered and sent to local theaters requesting that they consider showing the film.

Such a strategy was utilized by Laura of Nashville, Tennessee after visiting our website. Not satisfied to sit back and wonder when the film would come her way, Laura wrote the following letter and sent modified versions to the Tennessean and and two local theaters:

I have been eagerly waiting to see a movie called, “The Stoning of Soraya M.” It is based on a true story about how women today (in different parts of the world) are still the victims of the cruelest acts. Soraya’s husband wanted to be rid of her to marry a 14 year-old-girl. So he conspires to frame her for immoral crimes that rally the village to stone her. You would think that such barbaric acts ended with the dark ages.

But they have not. They are happening all around us.

Unfortunately, I found out that this movie is not playing in any theaters in and around Nashville. Why is that?? This movie has sold out in many markets where it has been shown.

Everywhere people are talking about this movie. With all that is happening around the world, and here in the U.S. a movie like this can really awaken people to the injustices that still happen today. Do you remember the story about the 8 year-old-girl in Arizona who was savagely raped??? Her parents rejected her, blaming her for the rape. Child services had to come in and place the child in foster care. I believe her parents were refugees from Liberia where blaming rape on the  victim is common practice. This story, (and there are many, many, many more of them) are examples how fragile our freedoms are here in the west. We cannot be complacent and too comfortable with what we have, because we could loose it all tomorrow if we let these atrocities continue.

Woman’s rights are human rights issues that cannot, should not be ignored. As long as there is one woman somewhere in the world being treated this way, none of us are free.

You can visit www.moralcourage.com to see what all the fuss is about.

What an effective letter! Laura has:

• Told her audience about the film.
• Stated the problem of her community not having access to the movie.
• Made it relevant by discussing a recent news story, something that even happened in the U.S.
• Stressed the importance of the film.
• Gave readers an “action” to take after reading her letter: visit the Moral Courage Project website!

Thank you so much for your doing your part to make sure that Soraya’s story is told Laura!

For more template letters and ideas of how to share Soraya with your community and stop stoning, visit our Take Action page.

We invite you to tell us about your own efforts to share The Stoning of Soraya M. with your community. We look forward to hearing about your efforts!

ACTION ALERT: Iranian women human rights defender beaten and arrested

Monday, 07. 20. 2009  –  By Janice  –  Comments Off

From Women Living Under Muslim Laws. Shadi is a member of the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign. She needs all Moral Courage activists to demand her release. Please read and take action now:

Ms. Shadi Sadr

19/07/2009: WLUML is deeply concerned to learn that our colleague and friend, Ms. Shadi Sadr, was beaten and arrested by plainclothes officers in Tehran, Iran on the morning of Friday 17 July 2009.

Online sources, including Iran Emrooz and Twitter, confirm reports that around 11:30 on the morning of Friday 17 July 2009, our colleague and friend, Shadi Sadr, was abducted by a group of unknown men in civilian clothes (possibly security forces) while she was walking to the Friday Prayer sermon. Apparently her friends tried to pull her away from her abductors but they were unable to do so. She was forced into a car and taken away.

Ms. Sadr is a human rights lawyer who especially defends the rights of women in Iran. She is also a Council member of WLUML, as well as part of the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign and Meydaan.

Friends in Iran report "…the regime has become very brutal over the past weeks, and the numbers of activists, journalists and intellectuals who are under arrest and in jail has increased exponentially. More trouble is expected today at the Friday prayer sermon, which Moussavi will also be attending."

Eye-witnesses report that Ms. Sadr was also "hit badly and dragged so badly that her scarf and manteau was removed from her".

Her abductors did not show any identity cards or warrants. Her friends and colleagues who witnessed the kidnapping say they tried to intervene but were met with violent force and Sadr was dragged away. They also report of another car (reported as a Mercedes) acting as back up for the Peugeot. As of yet, it is not clear where she has been taken or who has arrested her.

17 July 2009

Source: WLUML Networkers

An eyewitness account of the abduction is available here: http://meydaan.org/english/showarticle.aspx?arid=848

UPDATE: The security Police have investigated Shadi Sadr's office and home

On the heel of the July 17, 2009 illegal arrest of Shadi Sadr, apprehended on Keshavarz Boulevard by plainclothes government officers en route to the site of Friday Prayers, her spouse Hossein Niachian, sent word that several officers had introduced themselves to him as security forces. An hour beforehand, they had searched throughout their home and office, taking away some papers, documents, and two computer cases that had belonged to their little daughter and him. The inspection took several hours, as they ransacked the house and their ten-year-old daughter was present.

Then the officials demanded from Niachian that he leave for them the key to Sadr’s office, and after he expressed he didn’t know of the key’s whereabouts, they announced that they would go themselves to her law office and would search it.

Before sending news that this had happened, Niachian said Sadr had contacted him after her arrest. She called from the mobile that had originally belonged to her husband and asked for the pin code of the SIM card. Her husband asked her questions. She said that she couldn’t say where she was, but in order to follow up with her file, he had to go to the same place where she was arrested previously. Niachian said that Shadi had meant the Revolutionary Court; he was guessing they had transferred her to Evin Prison. Shadi knew her daughter was growing impatient so she spoke with her for a few moments and said to trust her that she was doing okay and would be freed soon.

Niachian said that Shadi suffers from a serious glandular and bone illness which leaves her in intense pain and for such reasons has to take certain pills. She was in the process of having it remedied and had expected to have surgery for this condition next week. Her husband also said that tomorrow he intended to head to the Revolutionary Court to follow up on her case.

17 July 2009

Source: http://meydaan.org/english/showarticle.aspx?arid=850

WHAT YOU CAN DO

We call upon the women's rights community and all human rights activists and organizations to speak out in defense of Shadi Sadr and all those who are being unjustly persecuted in Iran for their non-violent dissent. You can write in Persian, English, or your own language.

Please write to local and international media, mobilize your networks, and urge your policy makers and embassies as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to take action to protect the basic human rights of all those who are being abused and arrested in Iran.

Your letter can:

* call on the authorities to release Shadi Sadr immediately and unconditionally, as she is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for her human rights activities and the peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom of expression;

* stress that Ms. Sadr's arrest was of a targeted and violent nature, and that no warrant, reason for arrest, or officer identification were provided at the time;

* urge them to disclose her whereabouts immediately, and ensure that she is allowed immediate access to her family, lawyer of her choice and any medical treatment she may require, especially as she has a reported pre-existing medical condition;

* urge the authorities to ensure that Shadi Sadr and all other detainees are protected from all forms of torture or other ill-treatment;

* call on the authorities to remove unlawful restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and assembly in Iran.

The Honorable Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary General
760 United Nations Plaza
United Nations
New York, NY 10017
Web contact: www.un.org/en/contactus/contactform.asp

Ms. Navanethem Pillay
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: infodesk@ohchr.org
Tel: +41-22-917-90-00
Fax: +41-22-917-9008 or +1-212-963-4097

Ms. Margaret Sekaggya
Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org. The text of the e-mail should refer to the human rights defenders mandate.
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Telephone: +41 22 917 1234. This is the number for the United Nations telephone operator in Geneva, Switzerland . Callers should ask to speak with staff at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights dealing with the special procedures of the Human Rights, and specifically with staff supporting the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders. Please see here for further details about filing complaints to the Special Rapporteur: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/complaints.htm

Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
c/o. Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
CH-1211, Geneva 10
Switzerland
fax: +41-22-917-90-06
See model questionnaire here: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs26.htm#A5

The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland
Fax: 00 41 22 917 9006
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org

Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: via website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English), http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter (Persian)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: shahroudi@dadgostary-tehran.ir This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:

Iranian Bar Association
No. 3, Zagros St.,
Argentina Sq.,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 8771340
or +98 21 888 6425/ 26
Email: tamas@iranbar.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or mail@iranbar.org

And the Iranian embassy in your country (NB: recommend telephoning and faxing before letter-writing)

NYC event Saturday: Literatures of Resistance

Wednesday, 07. 8. 2009  –  By Janice  –  1 Comment

Literatures of Resistance

An afternoon in solidarity with the Iranian people

Saturday, July 11^th

2:00-5:00 pm

Bowery Poetry Club

308 Bowery
(Btwn Houston & Bleecker)
Take the F Train to 2nd Avenue
or the 6 train to Bleecker

Featuring:
Luis Francia
Aphrodite Desiree Navab
D. Nurske
Amir Parsa
Said Sayrafiezadeh
Roger Sedarat
Dalia Sofer
Niloufar Talebi
Eleanor Wilner
The Tehran-Dakar Brothers

Check persianartsfestival.org for an up-to-date list

Join these and other artists of conscience bear witness, in poetry and music, to the struggle for democracy in Iran.

This event is sponsored by:
Association of Iranian American Writers
Persian Arts Festival
The Translation Project
ArteEast
The Bowery Poetry Club

www.iranianamericanwriters.org

www.persianartsfestival.org

www.thetranslationproject.org

www.arteeast.org

www.bowerypoetry.org

Info: manijeh_nasrabadi@yahoo.com

Educate yourself: One Million Signatures Campaign

Tuesday, 07. 7. 2009  –  By Janice  –  3 Comments

I urge you to show support for Iranian women by signing their online petition demanding changes to discriminatory laws.

Check out the Take Action page to learn about other ways to show your support for human rights and women's empowerment.

Activist Idea: Bring Soraya to your book club this summer!

Tuesday, 07. 7. 2009  –  By Anna  –  5 Comments

“Whatever we're powerless to change at this moment, we can choose to use our voices for longer-term impact.”
– Irshad Manji in a recent newsletter to readers of her blog www.irshadmanji.com

Over the last couple of years, I have noticed a pattern in my reading. The books I have read, or at least added to a growing list for later, all have a few essential qualities in common: they are stories by and about Middle Eastern and/or Arabic and/or Muslim women and their experiences. I did not give the fact that I am none of these things (except for a woman) much thought in the beginning. I simply devoured the books I found and racked up hefty bills with Amazon (foregoing my usual Brooklyn Public Library route so that I could write in the margins). The longer my list became, the more I realized I was tapping into a genre of its own, and creating what felt like the skeleton of a syllabus. It must have been this academic context of exchange that inspired me to have conversations about what I was reading with others, not just for the thrill of co-analysis, but because the experiences that have been written about inspire in me a sense of urgency, too.

The stories are relevant today and as far as one can get from the frivolities of “chick lit”—although, simultaneously, a great appeal of the stories I was reading is precisely a focus on the female perspective and experience, so distinct from any man’s. The significance of these stories is that they boil down to human rights, which inspires in me an impassioned desire to advocate. Open conversations in the form of a book club could—should—lead to some form of action, dialogue being the very important first step and an action in and of itself.

That said, when I read Irshad’s newsletter about a brave new film, The Stoning of Soraya M., I didn’t doubt for a second that a viewing and subsequent conversation were the only way to start a book club like the one I envisioned. Such an experience boils down to a few key components that would, of course, ultimately overlap and coalesce into a single, more unified happening. These components are: 1) Exposure; 2) Digestion; 3) Debriefing; 4) Deeper Dialogue; and 5) Action.

Typically I prefer to read a story before seeing its film version. But in the case of Soraya M., and in starting a book club, I instinctively want to see the movie first. Immersing ourselves (as a book club) in the visual representation of this horrific, and yet very real, happening seems to me the most powerful way to delve into it. There’s no better way to start a group conversation than on a high, and experiencing the story in just a couple of hours could give us an immediate introduction to the kind of stories and issues we want to discuss. And then, as a group, if we decide it is important to read the book before transitioning to another story, then that’s what we will do.

I think that combining and comparing the visual and written versions of this true story can give us a fuller picture with the ability to imagine more using descriptions and actual scenes from the place where it all happened. Reading the language used to describe this event could also give us the vocabulary we would need to express our own impressions better. I would like to start a blog for the group so that we could keep conversations going between meetings, include people unable to be with us in person, and make our forum a public one.

In many ways, our dialogues are action. But I hope that a part of the conversations will also be to have more public dialogues and exchanges that can spur more exposure which would begin this cycle for others, and spread our collective voices so that they may be heard.
–Anna Antoniak

To get ideas for books you or your book club can really sink your teeth and soul into, check out the Suggested Reading List on this site.

Suggested Reading List

Wednesday, 07. 1. 2009  –  By Janice  –  10 Comments

1. The Trouble with Islam Today by Irshad Manji
2. Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor
3. Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future by Sunita Mehta
4. Neither East nor West: One Woman’s Journey Through the Islamic Republic of Iran by Chistiane Bird
5. Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan: The Martyr who Founded RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan by Melody Ermachild Chavis
6. With all our Strength by Anne Brodsky
7. Honor Lost: Love and Death in Modern-Day Jordan by Norma Khouri
8. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
9. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
10. Price of Honor by Jan Goodwin
11. Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks
12. Veiled Courage: Inside the Afghan Women’s Resistance by Cheryl Benard
13. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

This list is constantly being updated based on recommendations by readers and activists. Email Janice at janice.formichella@gmail.com with any book or DVD suggestions.

Issues Fact Sheet

Thursday, 06. 25. 2009  –  By Janice  –  Comments Off

Issues Fact Sheet
Stoning and Killing of Women: A Global Crisis

Stoning

1. Stoning is used for punishment for adultery and other crimes in Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Iraq.
2. Stoning is often written into law. Article 102 of Iran’s Penal Code states that stones used should “not be large enough to kill the person by one of two strikes; nor should they be so small that they could not be defined as stones.”
3. Women are far more likely to be victims of stoning. The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women states that out of ten people awaiting execution by stoning in Iran, nine are women. One reason is that women are more vulnerable to stoning is their vulnerability under the law. They are susceptible to unfair trials because they are more likely than men to be illiterate, and therefore may sign confessions that they did not understand.
4. Stoning breeches the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights (1966), to which Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, and the Sudan are party signatories.

Honor Killings

1. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights acknowledges that honor killings have occurred in Great Britain, Brazil, India, Ecuador, Israel, Italy, Sweden, and Uganda as well as in Muslim nations such as Turkey, Jordan, Pakistan, and Morocco.
2. The International Campaign Against Honour Killings estimates that over 5000 women are killed each year by family members in so-called “honor killings.”
3. The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning of Women, who rely on informers to tell them about honor killings, has identified 16 victims of honor killings in May, 2009 alone.

Exclusive Film Clips

Tuesday, 06. 23. 2009  –  By the Moral Courage Project  –  21 Comments

Soraya’s aunt, Zahra, knows the dangers that Soraya faces if she goes against her husband’s wishes. 

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Soraya is trapped in an abusive marriage where she has no rights and no voice.  

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Zahra thinks that a job will free Soraya to escape her terrifying and oppressive situation.  

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Ali and the Mullah prove that their world is a man’s world.  

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After a speedy trial Soraya is sentenced to death by stoning. With no one in the village to turn to the women are forced to accept their fate.  

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As Soraya is betrayed by her own father, Zahra is carried away—outranked but far from defeated.

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