WOMEN
در بيشتر جوامع توسعه نيافته همچنان مزد «مقام مادری» بهشت پس از مرگ است،
اکنون، جوامع متمدن با باروری زن به عنوان امری کاملاً طبيعی و تحسين برانگيز روبرو می شوند؛ روابط جنسی را نيز همين گونه زيبا و طبيعی و زمينی می بينند، پوشش زن را نيز. اکنون تن عريان يک زن همانقدر جاذبه دارد که تن عريان مرد، و گيسوی زن بود و نبودش همانقدر مهم است يا مهم نيست که گيسوی مرد. و چنين است که خانواده ی بشری در قرن بيست و يکم رفته رفته، در متن اين روابط آزاد از توهم، شکل تازه و بديعی بخود می گيرد. و انسان امروز به ابتدای جهان باز می گردد، زن همان «حوا»یی می شود که برای رسيدن به، و پا گذاشتن بر زمين، نافرمانی کرد و شادمانه حتی از بهشت گذشت تا بتواند به راحتی دوست داشته باشد، به راحتی عشق بورزد، و بی ترس و نگرانی از تبعيض زندگی کند و مرد هموزن او همان «آدم»ی باشد که در درک ارزش اين نافرمانی و همسانی با او همراهی و همفکری کند.
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TRAVELER
Photo essay: Historical sites
by
Rami Yelda >>>
ZANAN
In the 21st century, women’s rights should not be crippled by Islamic laws
As a proposition of the Socialist International in 1910, International Women's Day (March 8) was celebrated for the first time in many industrial nations. It demanded the right to vote and to hold public office, right to work, to vocational training and to an end to discrimination on the job. Since then, the International Women's Day is commemorated and is a national holiday in communist countries. It symbolises a long struggle of all women on all continents, with different ethnics, religions, cultures and social classes, who have been deprived from the equal right with men
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EMIGRANT
Accent is part of my former identity from which I can and should never escape
I always consider coming to America and experiencing the life in a foreign country as one of the major turning points of my life during which I matured quickly and learned how to manage my living personally. When I first came here, I was facing a lot of difficulties with the issues like language, cultural distinctions, Americans’ prejudice against Middle Easterners, and separation from my life. At first I dealt with a miserable sense of alienation and social rejection mainly because of my accent. I considered myself lower of the class compared to the native born Americans, and sometimes I was even afraid to talk because I was afraid of mispronouncing the words which, I thought, would make other people laugh at me
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PEACE
Alikhani was especially keen to see rapprochement between the U.S. and Iran
by Cyprus Mail
HOSSEIN Alikhani, an Iranian-born citizen of Cyprus who was a committed advocate of dialogue between civilisations, passed away this week after a long illness. He was 63. Alikhani was a successful businessman whose Nicosia company dealt in oilfield equipment. But he was best known as a passionate believer in the necessity for improved understanding between the peoples of the world, and in particular between Muslim countries and the West. To further this goal, he established in 1995 the Centre for World Dialogue, an independent, non-profit research institution that publishes a quarterly journal, Global Dialogue, and has hosted in Cyprus a series of international conferences
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MAN
I felt I should have done something or said something
The violent crackdown of the Islamic Republic’s security forces on how women dress in public was well on its way when I arrived in Tehran last spring. One morning a few days after my arrival I decided to walk to the nearby Super Jordan food market , located at the corner of the famous Jordan Boulevard (aka Africa Blvd) and Golazin street, and do some food shopping. As I was approaching the store I noticed there is some commotion on the street not far from the store. The security forces had set up makeshift apprehension stations on both north and south bound direction of the boulevard
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YAZD
On the chest of the central plateau of Iran since more than 3000 years before Christ has stood a defiant warrior called Yasatis. Yasatis or Yazd is an ancient Iranian city that has survived many terrible events amongst them the Mongolian aggression. Although Genghis Khan did tremendous damage to the city and its people, he was not the toughest enemy the city had to face. It was the harsh desert climate surrounding the city that constantly attacking from every direction for thousands of years. People of Yazd are renowned among Iranians as modest and humble people
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AIRPORT
As I check my passport one last time before putting it in my purse, my whole body freezes in horror
Funny how simple words can present a complicated, even scary, meaning when used as a combination. For example, ‘police’ makes me feel safe whereas “Secret police” gives me the creeps. “Homeland Security” is doing the same, because before this expression became a household word, I didn’t worry so much about “homeland” or “security”. Long gone are the days when my fear of flying was confined to take-off, landing, and all the turbulences in between. I’ll admit, those were indeed some of the most spiritual moments of my life and I have no doubt that each and every time, it was my heartfelt prayers -- sometimes amid tears while kneeling in the isle – that brought the plane to its safe landing
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WOMEN
Answers to questions about One Million Signatures Campaign
The One Million Signatures Campaign seeks to bring Iranian law addressing women’s status in line with international human rights standards, these demands are in no way in contradiction to Islam. Iranian law is based on interpretations of Sharia law, but these interpretations have been up for debate by religious scholars for some time, not only in Iran but around the Islamic world. Shiite Islam, on which the interpretations of Sharia rely with respect to Iranian law, claims to be dynamic and responsive to the specific needs of people and time. Iranian society has changed much since 1400 years ago, but the interpretations of Sharia on which the Iranian law is based remain rather conservative
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TRAVELER
Who wouldn’t want to relax for a week, somewhere achingly beautiful and home to a tropical rainforest?
If I close my eyes, I could still be there… Lying on a sun-lounger at the shores of the Caribbean Sea, sipping on colourful juice cocktail cleverly poured into a shelled-out coconut. The scorching sun beating down on me as the waves gently lap the silvery-white sand. Could this be heaven? Well not exactly, but it could be the next best thing. It’s the colourfully exotic Caribbean… Puerto Rico, to be precise. Was it really 6 years ago, I ask myself? Sadly yes. 6 years since I saw such beauty and felt such unequivocal peace, where my every whim was catered to and I felt immersed in a strange and new experience, like never before
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YA HOSSEIN
Photo essay: Marching for Imam Hossein in Washington
by M
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LIFE
Can we learn anything from giving thoughtful consideration to our own death?
The premature death of one of my former students, reminded me of my own eventual mortality. Death is the most mysterious, certain event (not counting taxes, of course) in everybody’s life, albeit the most undesirable. Just as we utilize every conceivable scheme, legal and sometimes not, to minimize the payment of taxes, we also resort to numerous means, including unconventional ones, to postpone our physical demise. We follow a strict diet programs, exercise on a regular basis, take our daily vitamins and food supplements, avoid risky activities, and try not to miss preventive medical check-ups. When we get older, we do foolish things to pretend that we are still young, easygoing, and energetic
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IRAN-U.S.
Tying improved relations to Iranian respect for human rights
The human rights situation in Iran is getting drastically worse. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch report that executions in Iran - including instances of stoning - have sharply increased under in the last few years. In addition, using the Bush administration's Iran Democracy Fund as a pretext, Iranian authorities have clamped down on Iran's civil society with thousands of arrests. As Washington’s foreign policy elite is concluding that negotiations with Tehran lie in America’s strategic interest, it is also important to recognize that it lies in the US’s long-term interest to make any improvements in relations with Iran contingent upon Tehran’s adherence to the UN human rights deceleration.
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FASHION
Photo essay: Iranian fashion show near San Francisco
by
Jahanshah Javid >>>
POINT
Another anti-Iranian propaganda that doesn't exactly work how it should
If you are a Jewish Iranian, living in the U.S. from the age of 6, it is very likely you don't like Ahmadinejad. So of course you would like to show how you hate him and how he is such a liar and how evil the entire government he represents is, in any way you can. So you decide to attack one of the only positive angles Iran has been reported: Sex-change. And why not connect it to Ahmadinejad's speech in your city's university, Columbia, where he said in Iran homosexuality doesn't exist the same way it does in the U.S. (We all know the united Republican
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SATIRE
How do we know they were properly assimilated and wouldn't pose a threat to our authority?
First of all, this damnation only covers head of the family, spouse and children under 18 who live with parents. Children older than 18 years of age may be damned under different damnation policy through college, university or employment. Secondly, Only immediate family is damned. Family members who do not reside in the US are not covered. Proof of residency is required for the damn coverage. One might ask why should we provide such a damn costly coverage for damn aliens? Although this is a naïve question, it deserves a clever response. Let me explain.
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TRAVELER
Photo essay: 16 days in Iran
by Birdfarm
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