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To celebrate the Persian New Year, President Obama sent a videotaped message to the people of Iran. But his references to a "new day" for relations between Washington and Tehran may not be heard by many women there.

Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old Iranian American freelance journalist from Fargo, N.D., has been in Evin prison since her Jan. 31 arrest. Saberi's detention and delayed release are the latest twists in a frightening pattern of harassment and detainment of women and dual nationals by Iran's Intelligence Ministry, whose clout and reach have expanded under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The ministry is behind a stepped-up campaign to silence female writers, journalists, and peaceful activists.

Saberi, who has reported for the BBC, NPR, and other respected news outlets, has lived in Iran for six years. Officials allege that Saberi was working "illegally" because her press credentials had been revoked. No formal charges have been filed against Saberi, and she has been allowed only a couple of brief telephone calls to her family and meetings with her attorney.

Charges were filed in the case of Esha Momeni, a graduate student at California State University at N... >>>