Iran Feature: Week in Civil Society --- From International Women's Day to the Death of Hugo Chavez (Arseh Sevom)

This week the mother of Neda Soltan, the young woman whose death was captured on camera during the demonstrations following the 2009 Presidential elections, reminds us of International Women’s Day. Ban Ki Moon makes a statement for an end to violence against women and children. Iran’s sociologists report on growing sexual freedom in Iran, while 250 female activists complain about the treatment of the daughters of Zahra Rahnavard and Mir Hossein Mousavi.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran issues a report, which is immediately branded biased by Iran’s media. A new cinema organization is launched --- state-sponsored and with a director who has worked hard to close the independent House of Cinema. A letter to Syrian President Assad from the Physicians' Association leads to its takeover by the Revolutionary Guards.

A message from well-respected economists warns of increased instability if the country’s economic problems aren’t addressed. Crime is on the rise, and the former Tehran Prosecutor General, Saeed Mortazavi, appears before the court in the defendant’s chair.

The death of Hugo Chavez is cause for (another) day of mourning in Iran.

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Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society, from Women's Activism to Harsh Sentences to Cyberspace (Arseh Sevom)

One of the video testimonies in "Women Speak Out Against War"

See also Iran Video Document: Tehran's Larijani to UN "We Are a Benchmark for Human Rights"

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Arseh Sevom, the non-government organisation promoting civil society in Iran, presents its weekly review of developments in the country:

A New Year Greeted with Empty Pockets, Joy, and Trepidation

The celebration of Iranian New Year (Norooz), which falls at the moment of the Spring Equinox (5:14 am UTC or GMT, March 20), has managed to survive every political regime and every change of religion. It remains autonomous of state control and an example of “the configuration in which society stands apart from the state.” Its continuing celebration in Iran represents a requisite of a civil society.

The fast approaching new year is causing a mixture of apprehension and excitement. This will be a difficult Norooz for many suffering from the bad economic situation in Iran where a combination of run-away inflation, poor economic management, and sanctions are really taking their toll.

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Tunisia Feature: Women Speak Out for Rights in a "New Country" (Le Nevez)

Yasmine Bhar, a student who has a part-time job in a call center, was another protester who had given up a days’ pay to attend the protest. “I’m afraid actually. I’m afraid for my Tunisia, for my future, for my rights” she said. She too was frustrated by a perception that too little was being done, both by the government and citizens to counter the influence of the Islamist movement. “I hope that people move. I want people to stop being cowardly and indifferent,” she said.

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The Latest from Iran (9 March): More than Political Games

2210 GMT: Clerical Challenge. A different line of criticism from Grand Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani, who has been distancing himself from the regime, today....

Vahid Khorasani said that the Government was "losing Islam" by failing to prevent Iran's youth from being seduced by Christianity.

2150 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ardavan Tarakmeh, student director, writer and film critic, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Tarakmeh is the son of reputed writer and literary critic Younes Tarakmeh. He was arrested during the Ashura demonstrations of 27 December 2009.

Farnaz Kamali, a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign for women's rights, has been released on $300,000 bail.

Kamali was arrested in Tehran during the protests on 20 February and charged with actions against national security, membership in the Campaign to Free [student activist] Atefeh Nabavi, and participation in protests.

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Iran Special: Profiles of 107 Imprisoned Women

A special post on Arshama3's Blog, which also has an introduction and list of sources. Poster by "lissnup":

Political Prisoners

1. Zahra Rahnavard, artist and writer, political activist, professor, wife of Iranian opposition political leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, put under house arrest on February 14, 2011, abducted with her husband on or around February 24, 2011

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The Latest from Iran (8 March): From International Women's Day to the Assembly

2125 GMT: Claimed video of the security presence in Tehran today:

2115 GMT: The Assembly of Experts. Reuters offers an overview of the significance of today's vote removing Hashemi Rafsanjani as head of the Assembly, with EA making this cameo apperance:

In the short-term Ahmadinejad has scored a victory in terms of his immediate authority within the establishment, but it raises questions for those beyond Rafsanjani who may have questions about that authority.

It is a question of who's next?

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