After what is called "the political man" .. Iran bid farewell to the campaign for women's rights to its final resting place

Jazeera Net-Tehran

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A large Iranian crowd on Friday mourned revolutionary activist Azam Talqani, who died of a stroke at the age of 83, to her final resting place south of Tehran.

The funeral was marked by the fact that Iranian women carried her body on their shoulders several meters, in recognition of what they have done to achieve women's rights, and their persistent demands that the term "political man" should be reviewed in the Iranian constitution, and open the door for women to undergo the presidential race.

Reformist presence
Despite the presence of large crowds from all segments of civil society and many funeral political figures, the Iranian media described the ceremony as "reformist", in an indication of its struggle and demands for reform, as it is the case of the reform movement.

Remarkably at the funeral of the political activist, Sheikh Ahmed Montazeri, the son of Shiite cleric Sheikh Hussein Ali Montazeri, mother of worshipers at her funeral.

Sheikh Montazeri father fought politics with rare courage.He was sentenced to death before the revolution.He survived and became a member of the Revolutionary Council.He almost became a mentor to the republic.He was appointed successor to Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, but he was appointed to the velayat-e faqih. Under house arrest until he died in 2009.

The political activist Karima Sheikh Mahmoud Talqani resumed the first Friday preacher in Tehran shortly after the victory of the Islamic revolution that overthrew the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in ​​1979; political activity immediately after it emerged from the prisons of the former regime, where she was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Women's rights
Since its entry into the first session of the Iranian parliament until the last days of its life, it has devoted most of its political activity to demanding the rights of Iranian women, especially the right to stand for election to the presidency, as it registered its name in many presidential races despite the rejection of the Guardian Council eligibility every time. Without mentioning the reasons.

Her death again brought attention to the activism of Islamic women in Iran to achieve women's rights and follow-up on the situation of female political prisoners, which was highlighted in the obituary of some of the feminist supporters who participated in her funeral despite the differences in the orientations of the two movements.

Political man
In addition to establishing a non-governmental organization to look after the rights of Iranian women, she spent years lean in demanding the need to revise the definition of “political man”, stressing that the term includes women and men, and should not be used to marginalize half of society and deny it the exercise of its legitimate rights under the Constitution. Women had the right to try their luck in the presidency.

In her latest press release, Talqani criticized the oversight role of the Guardian Council, which is tasked with examining the eligibility of candidates for the elections, and quoted a problematic quote from her father, a prominent cleric shortly after the revolution.

She pointed out that part of the Constitution has not been implemented after four decades of writing, and expressed regret for what you hear about treason, theft and financial fraud in the country, and explained that the interest in national interests in the countries of the third world almost remain at zero level.

Referring to the events of 2009, and the protests that followed the re-election of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, she stressed that the losing candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi would become a role model for the present and future generations, and urged the Iranian authorities to honor him instead of detaining him in his residence because he brought the spotlight to what was then It happens in the country during Ahmadinejad's presidency.

She concluded by warning that the young generation in Iran does not trust the ruling class, and demanded that the matter be remedied and restored.He also praised the standing of the political activist Zahra Rahnord, the wife of detained reformist politician Mir Hossein Mousavi, along with him in his demand for the rights of the Iranian people who voted for him.

For her part, Rahnord called a companion trained by Azam Talqani in moving words, describing it as the forerunner in the interpretation of the term "political man" in the Constitution away from masculinity and femininity, while the current interpretation proves the presidency really for men.

Rahnord noted that she will remain in her detention, faithful to the covenant she made with the deceased to achieve women's rights and equality with men.

Running for elections
Commenting on her political activism within the framework of the Islamic Republic's institutions, Mellat Iran Party member Khosro Seif stressed that the deceased persevered in communicating the concept of the political man.

Although in 2017 she attended the presidential nomination department in a wheelchair, she later confirmed her intention to run in the 2021 elections, explaining that the Guardian Council rejected her eligibility about nine times.

Saif pointed out that the images that come from the popular protests in the Middle East, show the presence of women alongside men in demanding their rights, pointing out that the deceased wanted such conditions for the women of her country to realize their rights.