Iranian feminists on "Solidarity and Its Discontents"

Dear Friend,
 
Raha Iranian Feminist Collective has written an
extraordinary article "Solidarity and Its Discontents,"
that should be read by every peace activist and anti-war
group in this country. We are pleased to reprint the
article below, which concludes with these words:

"There is no contradiction between opposing every
instance of US meddling in Iran--and every other
country--and supporting the popular, democratic
struggles of ordinary Iranians against dictatorship.
Effective international solidarity requires that the
two go hand in hand, for example, by linking the
struggles of political prisoners in Iran and with
those of political prisoners in the US, not by
counterposing them. Iranian dissidents, like
dissidents in the US, see their own government as
their main enemy. The fact that Iranian activists
also have to deal with sanctions and threats of
military action from the US only makes their work
and their lives more difficult. The US and Iranian
governments are, of course, not equal in their
global reach, but both stand in the way of popular
democracy and human liberation. US-based activists
must not undermine the brave and endangered work of
Iranian opposition groups by supporting the regime
that is ruthlessly trying to crush them.

We are calling for a rethinking of what
internationalism and international solidarity means
from the vantage point of activists working in the
US. Internationalism has to start from below, from
the differently articulated aspirations of mass
movements against state militarism, dictatorship,
economic crisis, gender, sexual, religious, class
and ethnic oppression, in Iran, in the US and all
over the world. For activists in the US, this means
being against sanctions on Iran, whether they are in
the name of human rights or the nuclear issue. It
means refusing to cast the US as the land of
progress and freedom while Iran is demonized as
backward and oppressive. Solidarity is not charity
or pity; it flows from an understanding of
mutual--though far from identical--struggle. It
means consistent opposition to human rights
violations in the US, to the rampant sexism and
homophobia that lead to violence and destroy people
s lives right here. But we don t have to hide
another state s brutality behind our complaints
about conditions in America. We have to be just as
clear in condemning state crimes against activists,
journalists and others in Iran, just as critical of
the Iranian versions of neo-liberalism and
oligarchy, of attacks on trade unions, women and
students, as we are of the US versions."

In these times of heightened tensions and war threats
against Iran, we think you will find this Raha
article especially relevant and helpful. Please let
us know what you think of the piece, and share it
widely with others.
 
In peace and solidarity,
Joanne Landy and Thomas Harrison
Co-Directors, Campaign for Peace and Democracy
New York, NY, USA
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Solidarity and Its Discontents
by Raha Iranian Feminist Collective
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/683/solidarity-and-its-discontents
        

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