Watch out (or celebrate), Iran, Zahra Rahnavard may be your next Hillary Clinton. She’s an artist, a politician, and also the fire behind husband Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s presidential campaign. From what I’ve seen, it appears she might even have more followers than he does — crowds of women (and men) roar when she shows up to an event.
Women in Iran will soon have cars made just for them. According to BBC News, Iran’s biggest car producer, Iran Khodro, will make cars suited for females with features such as automatic transmission, parking and navigation aids, a jack for changing tires without getting grease on clothes, and feminine colors. So, the car is sexist in a way (what are these “feminine colors” anyway?), but at least women will be able to get around the town. And really, there shouldn’t be anything shameful about driving an automatic. Other than the feminine paint job, don’t these special cars sounds just like the ones most Americans drive? [BBC] Keep reading »
Did you know the U.S. exports stuff to Iran? Lots and lots of stuff, in fact. During the time that President Bush has been in office, at least $158 million worth of cigarettes alone were sent there. “Our sanctions are targeted against the regime, not the people,” said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces trade sanctions. Strangely, some of the products that the government doesn’t want the people of Iran to be without include: bull semen ( “The animals we’re working with are genetically superior to those in many parts of the world,” said the company’s marketing manager.); at least $101,000 worth of bras; $175,000 in sculptures; nearly $96,000 worth of cosmetics; $8,900 in perfume; $30,000 in musical instruments and parts; $21,000 in golf carts and/or snowmobiles; and $3,300 in fur clothing. [AP via CNN] Keep reading »
In a letter to Iran’s vice president, Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi writes that importing Western toys into the country is a “danger” that needs to be stopped. In Iran, importing Western toys is discouraged but not illegal, and many toys are smuggled into the country. Najafabadi says their increased visibility is worrisome: “The displays of personalities such as Barbie, Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter … as well as the irregular importation of unsanctioned computer games and movies are all warning bells to the officials in the cultural arena.” Maybe he’s just pissed he doesn’t have the Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie, complete with a faux-Chinchilla coat. [AP and SFGate.com] Keep reading »
If you think America is hard on our cheaters, philanderers have been stoned to death in Iran up until this year. Although there has been a moratorium on the harsh capital punishment since 2002, last year, Jafar Kiani, who was accused of adultery, died by stoning when local authorities took justice into their own hands. His lover, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, remained in prison with their son for over a decade. But Ebrahimi managed to beat the odds of facing the same fate yesterday in court. The 34-year-old mother not only had her death sentence repealed, but immediately released. Ebrahimi was in such disbelief she told her lawyer, “It may be a trick — they aren’t going to release me, I can’t believe it.†Although death by stoning is still set in stone in traditional Iranian law, with twelve people still in jail awaiting their sentence to be carried out, this victory is truly groundbreaking. [BBC] Keep reading »
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