While living in exile I have become the loudspeaker for the people of Iran.
In my memoir, I wanted to introduce American women to Iranian women and our lives. I'm not from the highest echelons of society, nor the lowest. I'm a woman who is a lawyer, who is a professor at a university, who won the Nobel Peace Prize. At the same time, I cook. And even when I'm about to go to prison, one of the first things I do is to make enough food and put it in the fridge for my family.
Democracy is not an incident that happens overnight, nor a gift that America can give to the world. It is a culture which needs peace to evolve.
I have said many times that I wish there was no oil in the Middle East, and more water. People would have been much happier than they are right now.
Akbar Ganji was in prison for six years, and that was it...for six years, and it was finished. Of course the Iranian government could make up some stories and accuse him of some other things, but the international support didn't let the government do that.
Iran, the Iranian government, has mentioned several times that it wouldn't attack Israel.
The condition of women in Islamic societies as a whole is far from desirable. However, we should acknowledge that there are differences. In certain countries, the conditions are much better and in others much worse. For example, the conditions women face even in Egypt differ a whole lot from what their Iranian counterparts deal with. The condition of women in Pakistan is far different from that in Saudi Arabia. This shows that you can have different interpretations of Islam.
Israel is a country and should exist. And a country by the name of Palestine should be made. Two different governments of Palestine and Israel can live beside each other happily and both of them should recognize each other.
The diplomatic relations start when the two sides get a bit closer to each other, but U.S and Iran, they are drifting apart.
Americans shouldn't start a military attack, and they shouldn't bombard Iran, and they shouldn't interfere with the internal affairs of the country. And the Americans should pay more attention to the human right issues in Iran.
Democracy doesn't recognize east or west and democracy is simply people's will. Therefore, I do not acknowledge that there are various models of democracy; there is just democracy itself.
The fight against terrorism is a legitimate fight. And certainly whoever commits terrorism should be brought to justice. Unfortunately, the United States and a few other governments have used the war on terrorism as a way of violating human rights.
America is not the only one who should decide about the policies toward Iran.
Unfortunately the situation of human rights in Iran isn't improving. Some of the newspapers were shut down and the government didn't try to reopen the newspapers that were shut down before. And the laws are as bad as before.
The history and our experience shows that Democrats and Republicans think the same way in some cases, and their ideas aren't very different when it comes to international relations.
Akbar Ganji is a human rights activist in Iran and he works on freedom of expression and he does his job very well.
A Muslim man can have up to four wives. He can divorce his wife without offering any reason, while it is quite difficult for a woman to get a divorce. The testimony of two women is equal to that of one man. Any woman who wishes to travel needs the written permission of her husband. And the number of unemployed women is four times that of men.
If you study the behavior or the attitude of Syria, Iran, and U.S., you understand that these three countries can't come to terms with each other.
No government can make me wear a veil, no government can force me not to wear it either
It is totally unacceptable for a government to interfere in the internal affairs of another government and send aid, money, and weapons, to the people who are against a certain regime in another country.
I hope the example of Saddam Hussein will give a lesson to leaders of other countries where human rights are not respected.
Certainly, the fight against terrorism is a legitimate fight. And certainly whoever commits terrorism should be brought to justice.
Lawyers have a dangerous job in Iran.
I know of no civilization that tolerates or justifies violence, terrorism, or injustice. There is no civilization that justifies the killing of innocent people. Those who are invoking cultural relativism are really using that as an excuse for violating human rights and to put a cultural mask on the face of what they're doing.
The younger generation is essentially idealistic. This applies to the Iranian youth as well. In addition, the youth in Iran face certain difficulties... the Iranian youth need more freedom. They are struggling for more freedom and democracy. This commands great respect.
