Stumbling Toward Enlightenment

State Department says nearly two dozen nations aren’t doing enough to combat modern-day slavery.
By Christina Gossmann

The international fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery is losing ground, the U.S. State Department said in a new report out Monday [June 27th, 2011]. The total number of countries that are not meeting international standards to stop human trafficking nearly doubled to 23, according to the department’s annual report. The worst offenders were the Republic of Congo, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Another 41 countries were placed on the State Department’s “watch list,” which could lead to sanctions unless their records improve, the Associated Press reports.

“The problem of modern trafficking may be entrenched, and it may seem like there is no end in sight,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement. “But if we act on the laws that have been passed and the commitments that have been made, it is solvable.”

Roughly 27 million people are victims of human trafficking worldwide, according to the report, with 100,000 of them in the United States. The analysis ranks 184 governments around the world on their efforts to stop sexual exploitation, forced labor and modern-day slavery. Those countries meeting the baseline of expectations include the U.S., Canada, Australia, Scandinavia and most of Western Europe. The bottom tier is comprised mostly of nations in Africa and the Middle East.

The report is based on information collected from U.S. embassies, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, published reports, unofficial tips and research trips to every region.

The first State Department human trafficking report was released 11 years ago. Since then, 148 countries have joined the Palermo Protocol, the U.N. effort to combating trafficking, and 130 countries have enabled laws criminalizing all forms of trafficking, according to CNN.

By Golnaz Esfandiari

Zahra Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karrubi, the wives of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Musavi and Mehdi Karrubi, respectively, are only the latest examples of women who have been targeted by the Iranian regime. Neither woman has been seen for nearly three weeks. The opposition has claimed they were placed under house arrest as talk of renewed antigovernment protests was rekindled last month and were then transferred to a jail in the Iranian capital. Government officials say only that they are at their respective homes, but their children have not been allowed to visit.

Suddenly on March 8, Musavi’s website, “Kaleme,” reversed its claim that Musavi and his wife had been transferred to jail and said they have been under house arrest—a sanction it nevertheless described as “unethical and illegal.” There was no way to independently confirm the report. Meanwhile, a site close to Karrubi stuck to its claim that Karrubi and his wife had been taken to an “unknown location.”

Rahnavard, a former university chancellor and sculptress, was a ubiquitous presence during her husband’s 2009 presidential campaign, appearing hand-in-hand with him at rallies. That was a taboo-breaker; until then, the wives of politicians were invisible in the Islamic republic.

Colorful Scarves
Rahnavard, usually adorned with colorful scarves, was anything but invisible. She went to rallies, gave her own speeches, and met with supporters. She remained active after the mass protests over the 2009 disputed reelection of Mahmud Ahmadinejad that were put down by force. She became a staunch critic of postelection abuses and a supporter of the families of victims of the state crackdown. In some cases, she was even more outspoken than her husband. In this YouTube video, she is seen saying that “this regime has been very repressive; we’re currently seeing one of the most brutal faces of the regime.”

Fatemeh Karrubi, a former lawmaker and deputy minister for social affairs, was less visible than Rahnavard. Yet she also campaigned along with her husband, refusing to be silent in the face of the human rights abuses and attacks against her family. She directly challenged Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in open letters and accused Khamenei of ultimate responsibility for attacks perpetrated against families of political prisoners.

Obedient Mates
Both women angered the Iranian establishment, which for years tried to mold the image of the ideal woman as an obedient mate who sits at home and remains in the shadow of her husband.

Zahra Rahnavard arriving at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery to commemorate victims of the postelection crackdown in July 2009.

Asieh Amini, one of Iran’s most prominent women’s rights activists, says imprisoning Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karrubi, along with their husbands, would represent double injustice. “Two individuals ran for president, but now four people are paying the price,” she says.

The Iranian establishment has never had much tolerance for women who stand up for their rights and raise their voices.

Women Treated Brutally
Women who took part in street protests that followed the contentious 2009 presidential election were treated brutally by security forces and later by interrogators. A female journalist who was jailed in the postelection crackdown noted that the number of men who ended up in jail may have been much higher, but that women often faced harsher conditions.

A female member of the Green Movement in Tehran, who declined to provide her name, says she is upset that the plight of Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karrubi are not getting more attention. “Have they forgotten that when Musavi couldn’t leave the house, it was Rahnavard who continued visiting the families of political prisoners?” she asks, pinning the blame on Iran’s patriarchal society.

A student activist in the Iranian capital, however, says he believes Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karrubi are not being discriminated against because of their gender.

“Rahnavard and Karrubi have played a complementary role to their husbands. Others, including [student activists] Bahareh Hedayat and Mahdyeh Golroo, [human rights activist] Shiva Nazarahari, and [lawyer] Nasrin Sotoudeh…paid a heavy price and they have received good media coverage.”

Dozens of women were jailed amid the mass protests that followed the 2009 election. Some received heavy prison sentences, including student leader Bahareh Hedayat, who was sentenced to 9 1/2 years in jail. Yet even prison did not silence her and many other women, who issued open letters and went on hunger strikes to protest against their conditions. Their voices and the voices of other prisoners were amplified by rights activists and groups such as The Mothers of Park Laleh (previously known as the Mourning Mothers of Iran), who every Saturday gathered at parks and marched peacefully.

The government had no tolerance for them, either. The group was targeted; some of its members were detained, and others were harassed and threatened.

Amini says despite heavy repression, women have remained the voice of the Green Movement. One woman who has been playing a particularly significant role is Parvin Fahimi, the mother of 19-year-old Sohrab Arabi, who was killed in the 2009 protests. Fahimi has spoken out against violence and said on a number of occasions that if the authorities release all political prisoners, she will forgive those responsible for her son’s death.

Voices Of Tolerance
Professor Tohidi says women have generally promoted tolerance and spoken up against taking revenge for the brutality they’ve faced. “The [goal of woman] is for people to reach a better life, democracy, a society where the rule of law, peace, and security prevails,” she said. “If violence and revenge continues, then the cycle will never stop.”

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, another woman who has become a thorn in the side of the establishment, had called on Iranians to rally on March 8—International Women’s Day—to demand gender equality. Opposition websites also called on opposition members to take to the streets to join women demanding equal rights and to protest against the detention of the two “Green ladies.” One women’s rights activist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while in most countries around the world women were being celebrated on that day, in Iran, women who take to the streets are met with force.

“For us, it usually means being beaten by batons and being detained. We’re being constantly punished for being a woman and for pushing for equal rights,” she said.

Iranian journalist Zhila Baniyaghoob writes to her husband, also a journalist, in solitary confinement on their wedding anniversary:

Today, exactly 11 years have passed since I was with you. It was this very day that we began our lives together. We celebrated this beginning with a small ceremony. You were dressed simply, as always, not even wearing a tuxedo. You wore the jeans and shirt that we both liked. It was only when we were taking pictures and our friends and relations insisted that you also put a jacket on.

I even have unseen friends who’s only contact with me is through their e-mails filled with affection. You cannot imagine how many good companions I have found who stay by my side during happy and sad moments, who are concerned for you and concerned for me. Concerned for all the prisoners and their families.

PERSIAN LETTERS
Persian Letters offers a window onto Iranian life by translating and showcasing the works of Persian-language bloggers. Through their voices—from clerics, to anarchists, feminists, or bus drivers—we hope to sample the electronic dialogue going on within a society that is tough to characterize and often contradictory, but always interesting. We are not responsible for their views, however. You can write the editor of the blog, Golnaz Esfandiari, at esfandiarig@rferl.org

Opposition leaders have accused “establishment agents” of raping and abusing postelection detainees.

In a blog called “The Notes Of A Physician,” a blogger called Ali writes about the accusations that some postelection protesters in Iran were raped while in detention:

Doctor Fazeli, one of the most famous surgeons in Iran, asked me to be his assistant yesterday morning. As his surgeries are always among the most complicated cardiac procedures, and I learn many new things each time, I was glad to accept the offer.

However, it was a much simpler surgery this time—an anal cyst.

Dr. Fazeli didn’t feel like performing the surgery himself, and it was I who slowly removed the cyst. Once I did, I realized that it was inflamed and wrapped it up for the pathology department. Dr. Fazeli requested that I should personally go to the laboratories and get the results because the patient was a relative of his. It was only then that I realized why he had agreed to perform such a simple surgery.

Reluctantly, I went to the laboratories and got the results back within 40 minutes. Chlamydia is an infection, but this case was so critical that Dr. Fazeli decided to operate, instead of treating it with medication. I ran with the reports to Dr. Fazeli and told him that it was chlamydia. Without paying much notice, he asked me if I knew why he had asked me to assist him.

“This patient is one of my relatives and he has recently been released from prison,” he said. “Do you know how this infection may have been transferred?”

I was shocked to my very insides.

Dr. Fazeli told me to go and check on the patient while he contacted the health minister, Mr. Baqeri-Lankarani, to tell him everything. Still in a state of confusion, I asked Dr. Fazeli who else knew about this. Does his family know, I asked? He said no one but the two of us knew about it.

He asked me to sit in with the patient during a visit with Dr. Jaffari. (Dr. Fazeli always sends his patients to Dr. Jaffari for postsurgery psychotherapy.) I was there with the patient at 6 p.m. when Dr. Jaffari came in. He asked the patient a couple of questions and got few responses. He then asked me to leave them alone for a little while.

It was half an hour later when the patient came out. He told me that he doesn’t remember anything at all about what happened, saying it was the effect of rohypnol (commonly called the date-rape drug). I was so shocked that I lost it for a moment and the nurse had to bring me some water. I couldn’t believe that such things were happening under this Islamic government. He told me that this act has two aims: creating fear in society and promoting violence.

Consider if you were raped while in prison while your hands were tied, incapable of doing anything at all to stop it. Most people would prefer to die. So either it happened to you and nothing except revenge would matter, or you wouldn’t care anymore.

Remember that violence is the enemy of peaceful movements. The heads of the government make sure that the seeds of violence are planted in society and that everyone is filled with rage against the government in order to get an excuse for welcoming them with bullets.

A more serious case goes on with the victim of abuse. The victim transforms into a depressed and ashamed soul. Rape is the only way to break down those who do not respond to any other torture—those who are internally strong. Usually, if such people are not medicated, they proceed toward committing suicide, as they believe they have failed to protect their own honor. This feeling of shame causes them to no longer be a threat to the government.

Proving such a case is extremely difficult as well. The detection of rape is done by medical means that are under the influence of the government. Also, evidence vanishes within a few days. It is almost impossible to detect such an act. Interestingly, not all doctors agree to participate in medical inspections, police inquiries, and courtroom procedures. The culprit is never proven to be guilty by mere statements of witnesses in the court. There has to be some solid proof.

I called up Dr. Fazeli at once and explained the scenario to him, while insisting for his permission to allow me to publish this argument. He told me to wait in order to save my neck, and my patient’s neck as well. I told Dr. Fazeli of my intentions of sending a letter to the head of parliament, who denies that any sort of physical abuse occurred in the prisons, with the agreement of as many doctors as I could persuade after their checkup of the patient.

Please read the next sentence if you have any relative who has recently been freed from prison. Please undergo the procedure that I mentioned above, even if he denies any physical abuse, as he might have been given a dose of rohypnol.