When I think about International Women's Day, it reminds me of the suffering of millions of Iranian women like me. It makes me sad because it reminds me of how much I was disrespected and humiliated in my birth country. It reminds me how much Iranian women are insulted, disrespected, and have suffered. It reminds me of many horrible memories of being insulted and punished in school, and even at home by my brothers, who were brainwashed by the Islamic rules to see me and all women as inferior. It reminds me of the gross harassment by men who would look at me as a whore and the challenges I faced because I lived independently without being under the control of a man. It reminds me that I lived 30 years in Iran, but I never had the chance to travel and visit my beautiful country because hotels wouldn't let women book a room alone.
It reminds me of the terrible stories of my students who must accept the sick sexual advances and extortion by judges to be able to receive a divorce from their abusive husbands. I experience that, too. Under Islam, if a woman is abused or beaten by her husband, there is no law to defend them. There is a verse in the Koran (Al Nisa Surah) that actually gives permission for men to beat their wives.
Despite all these misogynistic Islamic laws, millions of Iranian women bravely fought against these harsh rules and did not submit. Many of them never gave up and tried to stand for their rights at any cost, even losing their lives.
This year alone, the Islamic regime killed over 32,000 protesters in just two days in January. The regime intentionally targeted young women and men who were beautiful and athletic to punish the families. They believe that if you target their children, you have killed their parents as well, because they cannot stand up against the regime anymore.
We should not forget that the brave mothers of all these young children who were killed by the regime have turned their mourning into another form of defiance against the regime. Instead of crying, many mothers displayed their defiance by dancing at the funeral of their children. It is unbelievable that they found the courage to turn their sorrow and mourning into dance, to tell the Islamic regime that even the death of their children cannot stop them from fighting for their rights and freedom.
While dancing and singing in public is forbidden for Iranian women, the mothers and sisters of those who were murdered by the regime started singing and dancing loudly in public and holding back their tears in order not to make the enemy (the regime) happy. These brave mothers should be the symbol of courage for all women around the world.
Being a woman in Iran means enduring barbaric, inhuman behavior in every facet of life. It means having remarkable strength, being made of steel, to survive all those brutalities one faces daily.
It is a shame that instead of making the Islamic regime accountable for what they do to Iranian women, the United Nations rewards them by giving them a seat to monitor women's rights around the world. This is an obscene joke, and another type of insult against Iranian women by the clowns and buffoons at the UN to close their eyes to the misogyny and brutalities against Iranian women.
On International Women's Day, we must remember brave Iranian women who have no rights and have been targets of discrimination and abuse for so many years. We must remember the high price that they are paying every day just to survive. We must remember many Iranian women who have no voice and whose lives have been ruined by the Islamic regime. We must remember hundreds of thousands of mothers who are mourning for their children in hiding, while dancing in public to undermine and humiliate all the Islamic laws against them, and say "No" to five decades of indoctrination.
My heart pains me this International Women's Day when I think about all the atrocities Iranian women have suffered and are suffering still. My heart pains me when I remember, like millions of Iranian women, how much I was insulted, disrespected, and ignored just because of being born as a woman in Iran under the Islamic Republic government. I cannot hold back my tears for Iranian women who are still living under this tyranny and suppression and are paying the price with their lives.
I salute Iranian women on this day for being the true symbol of courage, resistance, and dignity under the most barbaric Islamic rules imposed on them every day. I pray that they have their relief, their proper rights, and freedom soon. It cannot come soon enough.
This International Women's Day, we must not forget. We must be the voices of and bear witness for Iranian women. We must pray that by this time next year, Iran and Iranian women will be free.
Marziyeh Amirizadeh is an Iranian-American who immigrated to the U.S. after being sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation. She is the author of two books (the latest, "A Love Journey with God"), a public speaker, and a columnist. She has shared her inspiring story throughout the United States and around the world, to bring awareness about the ongoing human rights violations and persecution of women and religious minorities in Iran, www.MarzisJourney.com.
Marzi is also the founder and president of NEW PERSIA, whose mission is to be the voice of persecuted Christians and oppressed women under Islam, expose the lies of the Iranian Islamic regime, and restore the relationships between Persians, Jews, and Christians. www.NewPersia.org.