<\/a><\/div>\n\nWe hoped that our belief in an
\ninterpretation of Islam that is in harmony with democracy, equality, religious
\nfreedom and freedom of speech would reach a wider audience, particularly in the
\nWest.<\/p>\n
For many years now, I have wanted to write my memoir — a book that would
\nhelp correct Western stereotypes of Islam, especially the image of Muslim women
\nas docile, forlorn creatures. Sixty-three percent of Iran’s university students
\nand 43 percent of its salaried workers are women. I have wanted to tell the
\nstory of how women in Islamic countries, even one run by a theocratic regime as
\nin Iran, can be active politically and professionally. It is my impression,
\nbased on the conversations I have had during my travels in the United States and
\nEurope, that such a book would be a welcome addition to the debate about Islam
\nand the West.<\/p>\n
So I was surprised and angered when I learned that regulations in the United
\nStates make it nearly impossible for me to write a book for Americans. Despite
\nfederal laws that say that American trade embargoes may not restrict the free
\nflow of information, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control
\ncontinues to regulate the import of books from Iran, Cuba and other countries.
\nIn order to skirt the laws protecting the flow of information, the government
\nprohibits publishing ”materials not fully created and in existence.”
\nTherefore, I could publish my memoir in the United States, but it would be
\nillegal for an American literary agent, publisher, editor or translator to help
\nme.<\/p>\n
Iranians and other Muslims have long placed great value on the power of the
\nwritten word. My parents taught my siblings and me that ideas on the page can be
\nput into action. My husband and I have passed these values to our daughters.
\nIran is bursting with young, educated and dynamic people who are eager to
\ncommunicate with the American public. Many of our university students and
\nscholars have tried to publish their papers in leading American journals, but
\nthey have been turned away out of fear of the Treasury Department’s regulations.
\nAn American scientific journal, for instance, recently declined to run a paper
\non the human and economic consequences of the catastrophic earthquake last year
\nin Bam, Iran, because Iranian scientists helped write it and therefore the
\njournal would have to obtain a license to publish it. (Newspapers are exempt
\nfrom some of these requirements.)<\/p>\n
Since 1979, when I was removed from the judiciary after clerics ruled that
\nwomen were too ”emotional” to be judges, I have been defending women, children
\nand human rights advocates as an independent lawyer. I learned, sometimes in the
\nface of tragedy, that the written word is often the most powerful — and only —
\ntool that we have to protect those who are powerless. Many of my cases have
\nplaced me in opposition to hard-liners in our government. I have been harassed,
\nthreatened and jailed for defending human rights and pursuing justice for
\nvictims of violence: most recently when I led the legal team representing the
\nfamily of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist who was killed in
\nJuly 2003 while in detention in Tehran. (She had been arrested for taking
\nphotographs of the families of political prisoners outside the notorious Evin
\nprison.)<\/p>\n
I cannot publish my memoir in Iran. The book would either be banned
\naltogether or censored to such an extent that it would be rendered useless.
\nPublishing my book in the United States would involve risk and repercussions for
\nme back in Iran. I believe, however, that the message of the book is so
\nimportant that I will happily accept the risk and its possible consequences.<\/p>\n
If even people like me — those who advocate peace and dialogue — are
\ndenied the right to publish their books in the United States with the assistance
\nof Americans, then people will seriously question the view of the United States
\nas a country that advocates democracy and freedom everywhere. What is the
\ndifference between the censorship in Iran and this censorship in the United
\nStates? Is it not better to encourage a dialogue between Iranians and the
\nAmerican public?<\/p>\n
This is why I filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department on Oct. 26,
\njoining one filed in September by several American organizations representing
\npublishers, editors and translators. We seek to overturn the regulations on what
\nAmericans can and cannot read in the United States.<\/p>\n
Human rights, including the freedom to read whatever one wishes, are
\nuniversal values that transcend national boundaries. Therefore, just as I take
\non court cases in Tehran to defend others’ rights, so must I follow my
\nconscience and take on a lawsuit in the United States to defend my own rights
\nand the rights of Americans.<\/p>\n
\nURL: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com<\/p>\n
GRAPHIC: Drawing (Drawing by Leigh Wells) <\/p>\n
LOAD-DATE: November 16, 2004<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HEADLINE: Bound but Gagged BYLINE: By Shirin Ebadi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":546,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mahmag.org\/archive-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}