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Posted by Review-a-Day, June 1st, 2006 2 Comments Filed under: Review-a-Day. Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ibadi
Reviewed by Vali Nasr
The New Republic Online
"Since the Nobel Prize committee recognized Shirin Ebadi's tireless efforts on behalf of Iranian women, children, and political dissidents, she has become the international face of Iran's struggle for democracy. A judge during the Shah's time, Ebadi found herself, like many other women of her generation, pushed to the margins by the revolution's turbaned rulers. She became a lawyer and a human rights activist, building a career solely devoted to unmasking the absurdities of Iran's theocracy and fighting its archaic laws, violations of women's rights, and mistreatment of dissidents. All this is chronicled in her memoir. The book is a powerful condemnation of the dictatorship of the ayatollahs, at its best when it recounts the suffering of those whom Ebadi represented. The gross injustices and the everyday cruelties of the Islamist regime in Iran would be comical were they not so tragic." Read the entire The New Republic Online Review.
Nasr has a truly bizarre view of the current situation in Iran. As the review points out, the current president was ELECTED by appealing to the poor. But Nasr ends the review by claiming that this is a "stable authoritarian regime". So which is it? An elected government? Or authoritarian regime?
What so many in the West do not understand is that this IS democracy in Iran. No country is more likely to be vibrant democratic society that Iran in the Middle East--certainly not Iraq or Egypt (to name just two regimes propped up by the US). You can see this in the number of political parties and the number newspapers, etc.
True, the corrupt ruling council is a real impediment to the creation of the democracy, but they were not the reason that Ahmadinejad won the election, since they clearly wanted Rafsanjani to win. If Nasr's problem is with the ruling council, fine. The graft and corruption just make this worse.
But it is a gross misrepresentation to argue that "Iran's youthful cultural dynamism has not only failed to produce democracy; it has failed even to produce a credible pro-democracy movement." In truth, Iran has a democratic culture and it doesn't need its "youth" to create one.
I remain very hopeful that the ruling council will soon prove too costly too maintain and that the rule of law will soon be in democratic hands. Just don't expect it to adopt western cultural values.
A fascinating read... difficult to put down
Ms. Ebadi’s book “Iran Awakening” is one of the best English books about Iran that I have read. The book is essentially a memoir of Ms. Ebadi’s life from the time she enters Tehran University and graduates as the top Law student up to a few months ago when she was representing the reporter Akbar Ganji as his lawyer.
The book is concisely and clearly written with detailed first hand accounts of her life in pre and post revolution Iran. Ms Ebadi’s work is independent of any political organisation and as such she has pointed out many of the faults she saw and experienced in the Shah’s regime, the Islamic Republic and the United States. However, saying that, the majority of the criticism is levelled at the Islamic Republic's poor record of Human Rights and the incredible gulf between rights of men and women.
Reading the book it was more than clear to me that the Nobel Prize committee made the best decision they could have to award the Peace prize to Ms Ebadi. Being a lawyer in Iran is difficult enough, but being female and a lawyer and working for Human Rights is not only an uphill struggle but more like a free climber dangling freely knowing that any minute now consciousness could be taken from you. In addition to this, let's not forget that she is a wife and a mother too which as she writes so passionately about in her book, has provided her with many equally challenging dilemmas.
There are many English books written about Iran but this book is different. This book is authored by an Iranian who has lived every day of her life in Iran; who has got to know the system both from the inside, as a civil servant, and from the outside, as a lawyer for its victims; has specifically written the book for an English audience.
I’m sure there will be critical reviews of the contents for her lack of criticism at the various political factions that have at some point been either popular or held power over the Iranians. Ignore that! This book is written by a woman who has fought discrimination in its ugliest form and has maintained an independent and balanced view of all aspects of Iran. She is a Muslim not blindly loyal to any regime or party and as such I’m sure - as she has recognised - she will be criticised at the same time for being pro-regime or anti-regime by Iranians because of their different political agendas.
Ms Ebadi says that this is her first book aimed at an English audience, but I think Iranians, especially the diaspora, would find it equally interesting. Lastly, as this book is banned in Iran, I hope people outside will appreciate the risk and effort it has taken for Ms Ebadi to get this published.
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