Woman=Man: A Plea for Equality of the Sexes - An Important Message not just for Iran but for the World

(photograph by Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA - appeared in Guardian UK online)

Every day I review multiple international news sources, one of which is the Guardian UK website. Recently I found myself browsing their site as I often do and after a few clicks, I stumbled upon a photograph depicting an Iranian woman with an inscription on the palms of her hands which in Farsi reads "Woman = Man".

This image struck me on numerous levels: It appealed to the photographer in me given its technical strength in terms of the elements of lighting, aperture, sharpness and depth of field, as well as a result of its powerful photojournalistic impact which is delivered so beautifully and effectively. Since I am Iranian by birth, I naturally feel connected to the story behind the photograph since Iran and Iranian people are, and will always continue to be, in my heart, as well as an important part of my life. My family fled Iran just months before the 1979 revolution and I effectively grew up in the West (Europe and the United States) but the rich and diverse Iranian (Persian) culture is an essential and inextricable part of my heritage as well as my personal identity. Of course, as a woman, I am even further drawn to this photograph because of the power and importance of the words themselves, “Woman equals Man”, given their direct implication in my life as well as in the lives of all women the world over.

For the woman in the photograph to have felt compelled to proclaim her message and allow it to be documented speaks volumes especially when you consider the political and general societal circumstances in present-day Iran. The Islamic fundamentalist theocracy which has been in place for over 30 years has choked the rights of women and in so doing has effectively eliminated women from participating as a part of the societal calculus in any meaningful way, the exception often being the ultra-conservative traditional roles normally reserved for women, and even in those cases women’s rights are severely limited or restricted.

What makes the action taken by the woman in this photograph even more remarkable is that it is an overt act of defiance given that travel-bans, detentions, and summons are frequently the most benign of consequences imposed by the Islamic government upon women activists. Many of them go on to be abducted, imprisoned, or if their actions are found to be egregious enough, stoned to death. The issue of women’s rights and the attainment thereof is compelling enough that Iranian women are increasingly prepared to go to extreme lengths to proclaim its importance and to strive to achieve it despite the potential punishments that may be endured as a result.

The recent case of Roxana Saberi which gained international attention helped to shed only a glimmer of light upon a dire situation which everyday citizens, especially women, are forced to endure. If anything, despite the fact that she was made to unjustly suffer, overall, Roxana Saberi was treated much more kindly and humanely than the average Iranian woman would have been treated. In fact, in interviews immediately following her release, Roxana spoke about the women with whom she was incarcerated who helped to give her sustenance during her ordeal in the infamous and deadly Evin prison. The sad reality is that many of Roxana’s female cellmates will likely end up with a similar fate as the countless nameless and faceless victims who are routinely eliminated by the Islamic government of Iran and whose memory endures only with their immediate families and loved ones.

I am extremely moved when I think of these matters because they are deeply personal, not just because I am a woman of Iranian descent but because I am a human being and I find it important to equate women’s rights with human rights. I think about my own circumstance and that of my family so many years ago, realizing how lucky I was to be able to get out of Iran during that time of intense upheaval, not just with my individual life having been spared but with my entire immediate family intact. What would my life be like had I been forced to remain in Iran, as a small child and later as a young woman? What would have happened to my family? Would I have made it to adulthood? If so, would I still be alive today? If not, by what means would I have met my demise and for what reason? Thankfully I don’t have to engage this line of thinking very often but many people, especially in the months immediately before and after the revolution, did not survive as they were eliminated for being of the wrong political affiliation, the wrong religion, or the wrong ethnicity and if any of these were coupled with the wrong gender, then their fate would have certainly been doomed. For the sake of those who no longer have a voice, it is important to speak up, ask questions, and encourage a dialogue so that there can be an end to the senseless suffering of humans at the hand of other humans due to perceived "differences".

It is poignant to note, that even in the United States, which is the nation most revered in the world for its ideals of freedom and human rights, the issue of women’s rights has only existed for the past 161 years - it was in July of 1848 that the first Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Granted, the United States is a young nation but even in this land of lofty ideals and revolutionary achievements, it still took over two centuries after it was first colonized for the plight of women to gain importance and eventual prominence. There are still numerous milestones which must be achieved in order for the United States to claim its rightful leadership role amongst the nations of the world in terms of its full recognition of women’s rights but out of all of the members of the world community, the eventual achievement and implementation of full equal women's rights by the United States will have the most significance. Beyond the tremendous symbolism that such an accomplishment will signify, the act itself will be the realization of the words of the Founding Fathers made famous in the Declaration of Independence.

However you define it, gender inequality continues to be a global reality in developed and developing countries alike, and there is still plenty of room for improvement everywhere – some nations have more work to do than others but no nation is exempt. This is not to say that progress is not being made in the world but equality of the sexes is still viewed as a vague ideal and in order for it to become a reality, there has to be a fundamental and universal acceptance by individuals as well as by governments to recognize it as a societal imperative of the highest priority, the achievement and promulgation of which is surely attainable. Gender equality is important not only because it is an issue of women's rights - it is truly a matter of human rights.

To the woman in the photograph, it’s my sincere hope that we can all strive to see the day when the following formula is realized: WOMAN = MAN = HUMAN.