Iranian Woman Detained Set Free by Posting Bail
John Johnston
11/14/2008
10:30AM
The Iranian-American woman who was a graduate student at California State University Northridge, who held dual citizenship in Iran and America, was released after posting bail for charges against acting of national security. She was detained in Iran after committing a moving violation, in which she was stopped to be ticketed. At some point during this process, the officer siezed her computer in which it was found that she was doing research on her master thesis for women's rights in Iran. This discovery led to her arrest in which she was charged with acts against national security. She was held in jail for almost a month, and was just recently released after paying $20,000. Many human rights and women's rights workers have protested the act, saying that the Iranians are discriminating against women. Irans only reply was that they are practicing and upholding Iranian laws as well as Islamic law.
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What is most interesting about this article is the fact that she has been released, after obviously not committing any real crime, after paying a hefty debt. Does this mean that practicing Islamic law and Iranian law is falsely accusing women of crimes and then accepting money to let them go? I can safely say that I doubt this was the original intent of Iranian and Islamic laws. What should be questioned then, is, why do these people think that they can practice this type of miscontruing of the law? It would be interesting to go back through the times and see where the law was "changed" and when this practice starting being accepted into the social norms. Alas, can we really fault a group of people for a practice that they allow yet others condemn? America, throughout her history, has made a reputation of practicing rituals and social norms that other societies condemn. For instance the country was founded on some basic principles, including religious separation. Religious separation was not the social norm, so are we at fault, too? Obviously, human's rights and religious separation are two totally different things, yet it puts it in perspective. Iran needs to wake up to the calling of the world, accept the fact that they are "wrong" and try, at least at bare minimum, to conform to current status quo's.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-11-11-voa19.cfm
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