Current Events

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Iranian Director, Mahnaz Mohammadi was arrested in her house Sunday by intelligence agents. Mohammadi, a womens rights activist, was previously arrested in 2009 for protesting the deaths of opposition demonstrators. Mohammadi, director of the short documentary "Women Without Shadows," has won several awards and contributed to veteran Rakhshan Bani-Etemad's "We are half of Iran's population" documentary on women's demands in the 2009 presidential poll.

Using film to show the different aspects of women struggling to live in Iranian society was Mahnaz` path in life, and she did not hesitate to make the necessary sacrifices along the way. When I talked to her a few months ago, she knew that they would be coming for her eventually. She insisted, however, on staying in Iran, as her love for her country and her people were the very motivations to speak out in the first place. She said she would not feel alive any where else.

The footage in this video is borrowed from her short movie about the 2005 Iranian women's rights demonstration for March 8th. I mixed them with parts of my song, "Constant Pain of Mine", which she liked a lot. This is not a tribute, I just do not want to be silent. You do not be silent too, or your turn will come.


Peace
Salome
june 29th, 2011