November 27, 2020
Faezeh Hashemi, the outspoken daughter of the late President Rafsanjani, says the public in Iran has no access to a normal way to make its desires known, so the only choice left is civil disobedience.
Faezeh, 57, was a member of the Majlis for four years in the 1990s and editor of the daily newspaper, Zan, which was aimed at women’s issues until it was shut down by the regime.
She has long been vocal on political issues and in recent years has loudly supported the Reformist movement.
Recently she spoke to small gathering to mark last year’s protests that started November 15. A recording of the speech was made available to IranWire. In that speech, she was very blunt: “Unfortunately, I do not see a bright future for the Islamic Republic.” And, she said later, “There is no future for Reformists.”
Hashemi also talked about sabotage carried out by people with links to the government during the protests. ”For example, plainclothes or government-affiliated thugs broke glass so that the government could say it was dealing with rioters. This is an old-fashioned way of trying to both intimidate the people and influence public opinion about its repressive stance, claiming it was tackling rioters and not those who were demanding something. Mr. Ahmadi-nejad has also mentioned this point recently.”
Hashemi was referring to former President Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad’s interview with Abdol-Reza Davari and Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, two advisers during his tenure. In an excerpt from the interview published October 12, Ahmadi-nejad said the government had a policy of using organized thugs to sabotage popular protests, and that it was regarded as one of the tasks of security agents. “Thugs are organized and even armed, and when the people engage in a reasonable protest and a rightful protest against the elite, they come to set fire, create conflicts, spark riots and provide the ground for violent treatment of protesters.”
Hashemi said this was a tactic long used by the regime. “This is an old policy, and they still do it. That is why people going to protest must be careful not to fall into their trap and separate themselves from these government agents.”
Even with these obvious risks, Hashemi nonetheless called for people to protest and take part in civil disobedience to make their demands known. “Unfortunately, the regime has left no other choice. We cannot achieve what we want in a normal situation—that is, there is no ear to hear the logical demands and legal rights of the people. The only way left for us is civil disobedience.
“Every citizen has the right to take to the streets and protest,” she said. ”They do not need a permit because it is allowed in the Constitution. But there are other types of civil disobedience besides street protests. For example, in the case of people who oppose compulsory hejab or the law prohibiting women’s cycling, women can take off their hejab or ride a bicycle. Criticism on social media and other media, and sharing these views, are also types of civil disobedience.”
At the meeting, a person in the audience said not voting was also a form of civil disobedience, and Hashemi agreed. “I think that as long as the current situation continues, one should not vote, unless there is a change,” she said.
There was also a question about whether Hashemi should put herself forward as a candidate in the 2021 presidential elections. She did not give a concrete answer, saying only, “I do not have such a plan, at least so far. Moreover, even if I did, I would be disqualified.”
Several weeks ago, Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai, a member of the Council of Guardians, which rules on what applicants can go on the ballot, said women would be eligible to apply. But in November, he backtracked, saying there was no obstacle to women registering at the moment, but the further stages of the process were up for debate.
On November 16, Ahmad Khatami, a hardline conservative cleric and a member of the 12-man Guardian Council, directly challenged the idea that women could be presidential candidates: “The Constitution of the Islamic Republic stipulates that presidential candidates must be rijal, and the meaning of rijal is clear [in meaning men].” The constitution says a presidential candidate must be an eminent “rijal.” Rijal is an Arabic word and is masculine. But the Persian language does not have masculine and feminine terms.
