Iranian Dissidents at Forum Speak On Ahmadinejad, Women’s Rights
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A group of Iranian dissidents spoke yesterday about the status of women under President Ahmadinejad at a forum at Fordham Law School, while a prominent Iranian journalist said the dictator was able to present his visits to Columbia University and the United Nations as a public relations victory in Tehran.
A television and radio commentator for Voice of America Television, Elahé Sharifpour-Hicks, said Mr. Ahmadinejad was portrayed in Iran as standing up to attempts by the president of Columbia, Lee Bollinger, to “make him nervous.”
Ms. Sharifpour-Hicks said part of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s rationale for speaking out against America was to boost his domestic credibility, which she said was weakening.
“Ahmadinejad went after the United States and Israel very loudly. He then took that platform and came back to Iran, and people in the government praised him,” she said.
A lawyer and writer who was sentenced to four years in prison for advocating reform in Iran, Mehrangiz Kar, said, “The entire women’s rights and human rights situation in Iran has been getting worse since Ahmadinejad has become president.”
Ms. Kar said the potential for reform through democratic channels like Iran’s parliament is being stymied by the power of the Guardian Council, the 12-member body that has the ability to veto all legislation deemed to be against Islamic laws or the Iranian constitution.
