Sofia Says

What do Golshifteh Farahani’s bare-breasted photos, and this year best Foreign Film “A Separation” have in common?

They both prove that, believe it or not, society is moving in the right direction.

Granted this world of over 6 billion souls will never be anything near perfect, there is something to be said on this International Women’s Day.

Today, communities around the world will celebrate women and their achievements, and will hopefully set stones for further advancements.

The controversy surrounding Farahani’s photos brought a very vivid conversation to light.

It wasn’t a matter of what the Regime’s stance would be, rather what would Iranian men and women take from the art?

As expected, and as is appropriate – all thoughts were present. There were those who insisted that Farahani had brought shame to her name, her family and to her people for exposing something so intimate.

However the school of thought who applauded her expression was more vocal – Iranian men and women around the world saw her action not as erotic, or tasteless. They saw the individual, independent choice of an Iran woman – and they supported her courage, and her voice.

At the box office, “A Separation” lived up to its name by truly bringing a separation between those stuck in yester-year, and this generation’s forward-thinker.

The movie which was at first delayed time and time again by the Regime, became this year’s Iranian Jewel – a victory for Iranian civil society at a time of great oppression, as well as a masterpiece which took Iranian women out from the Regime’s shadows.

“A Separation” perhaps was not created for the sake of Iranian women, but it is yet another triumph on the path women in Iran, and around the world, continue to forge.

And while in the grand scheme of world affairs, these events are modest victories, they nonetheless set stones for more to come.