Ballpoint Adventures for January 7, 2006: Billy Ballpoint isn't exactly a feminist...

Sometimes Billy represents my point of view and other times, society's.

Esha Momeni, Iranian-American Women's Rights Advocate Freed in Iran

Well, here's so more (mostly) good news. Remember that women's rights advocate I blogged about a few weeks back? Esha Momeni was arrested in Tehran, Iran, on October 15 for charges that would eventually be stated as "propaganda against the state". The thing to note is that she was in Iran working on her CSUN grad thesis on improving the worldview of Iranian women.

So, naturally the Iranian government would take that as propaganda against the state.

Anyway, so, the good news is that she got released yesterday on bail. All her Iranian family members had to do was give the police the deed to their home as a guarantee that Momeni wouldn't flee the country--flee the country? Why would she do that?? :P

Regardless, this is good news. Momeni was being kept in solitary confinement, apparently. Not good.

Find out more about Esha Momeni at the official blog covering her arrest and release here:

http://for-esha.blogspot.com/

Or read about her release at CNN.com here:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/11/11/iran.student.released/index.html?eref=rss_latest

Check out my original post on Momeni here:

http://thepete.com/esha-momeni-womens-advocate-arrested-in-iran

Esha Momeni, Women's Advocate Arrested in Iran

Did you hear the one about the Iranian-American women's advocate who walked into a bar and got arrested for trying to help change laws that discriminate against women? Actually, the bar was in Iran and there was no bar, but there was an American-born women's advocate who got arrested in Tehran for doing research for her master's thesis at CSUN, a college in Southern California, not far from my old digs (in fact, I used to date a CSUN grad).

Seems Esha Momeni was quite an outspoken advocate for the rights of women in Iran as well as for the perception of Iranian women outside of Iran. The following comes from Momeni's bio, which she wrote back in 2007:

During her studies Esha was stunned by stereotypes of Iranian women in the United States as weak and passive as well as distressed by the possibility of American military intervention in Iran. Therefore, Esha decided to make her master’s thesis project a personal exploration of the shared experiences of everyday Iranians which included interviews with some members of a grassroots women's rights campaign called the "One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws." The Campaign has made it clear that its activities are peaceful and merely aimed at reforming the Iranian laws in areas that discriminate against women and that it has no political objectives otherwise. Esha is determined to better the lives of her fellow citizens and banish stereotypes of Iranians through photo and film.

Sounds like a pretty cool chick, huh? Well, she's been in a prison cell for two weeks now.

What follows is an excerpt from a blog post at for-esha.blogspot.com that describes how Momeni was arrested:

Esha Momeni, women’s rights advocate and a volunteer of the Campaign from California was arrested on Wednesday October 15, 2008, while on a visit to Tehran. Momeni who is a photographer and graduate student was arrested in an unusual and illegal manner after being pulled over on Moddaress highway, by individuals who identified themselves as under cover traffic police on the pretense that she had unlawfully passed another vehicle while driving. Esha was arrested and taken to Section 209 of Evin Prison, managed by the Intelligence and Security Ministry.

Prior to her transfer to Evin, security officials searched her home and seized property, including her computer and films which were part of her thesis project. The security officials had an arrest warrant and court permission to search the home and seize property.

There is a petition you can sign that requests the government of Iran provide her with health care, a lawyer, contact with her family, and basic human rights. It also requests a "Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Esha Momeni,"

It's a little scary that such a thing has to be requested, but when a country like the USA does such horrible things to its own citizens (COUGHjosepadillaCOUGH) how can we expect American citizens abroad to be treated fairly?

Please sign the petition! I just did.

For the latest on Momeni's situation, please visit: http://for-esha.blogspot.com

Here's a video you can pass on to people or embed in your on blog that tells Momeni's story in a nutshell:



You can also read more about her arrest at CNN.com here:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/22/iran.us.student.arrest/index.html?eref=rss_latest

and from AP.org here:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hgSS56p6YS5kfLZJ5UICpcgWiqIwD940LSBG0

Eliot Spitzer: Pro-Choice Advocate, Hooker Hirer

So, this morning, when I woke up, I started listening to today's podcast from http://DemocracyNow.org/ to learn that today is "Abortion Provider Appreciation Day" and not only does it mark the 31st year the day has been celebrated in the city of Albany, New York, it's also the day, according to the DN broadcast (transcript here: http://www.democracynow.org/…e_abortion ): "Governor Eliot Spitzer is addressing the Family Planning Advocates of New York State. Shortly after taking office last year, Spitzer introduced a bill that would declare abortion a fundamental right for women. The bill would also ensure abortion remains legal in New York should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade."

Bad news, ladies!

Turns out that Eliot has *also* been caught red-handed setting up a meeting with what the New York Times calls "a high-priced prostitute." So, maybe my headline, claiming Spitzer "hired" a hooker, isn't entirely accurate, but I hardly think you set up a doctor's appointment if you're not planning on getting, uh, some work done--if youknowwhatImean.

So, isn't that great? He's all set to protect a woman's right to choose when he gets caught encouraging a woman's right to charge.

Another "great" thing is that America doesn't get to have another discussion about women's rights--instead we get another discussion about how politicians suck.

Ah, women. Won't you ever learn?

I'm just Mr. Sarcastic today!

Read more about Spitzer's troubles in an article from NYTimes.com here: http://www.nytimes.com/…itzer.html

Read more about women's troubles with protecting their right to choose here:
http://www.democracynow.org/…e_abortion

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