Today,
in commemoration of the International Women's Day, we, freedom - lovers and
passionate advocates of women's rights have gathered here to protest against
the mandatory veiling of women in
For
us, the veil is not just another kind of clothing; and opposing it is not just
defending the right to freedom of clothing even though it is put forward as
such. Veiling internalises the Islamic notion in women that they belong to an
inferior sex, and that they are sex objects. It teaches them to limit their
physical movements and their free behaviour. Veiling is a powerful tool to
institutionalise women's segregation and to implement a system of sexual
apartheid. It signifies the subjugation and servitude of women based on Islamic
doctrine and Koranic teachings.
Much
more than a way of clothing, hijab is the manifestation of an outright Islamic
misogynism and an antiquated view on women's status. It is designed to control
women's sexuality much more effectively than any other religion or ideological
system.
Furthermore,
during the last thirty years, hijab has been and continues to be the political
and ideological symbol of political Islam, Islamic states and Islamic movement
in the Middle East, North Africa and
Against
imposing the veil on women, there exists a massive social movement of
resistance and defiance of women in
Therefore,
on the international women's day, in protest against hijab, we declare that:
·
We fight for the abolition of compulsory veil ,
alongside the women's equal rights movement in
·
We struggle against the violent actions of Islamic Republic including flogging
and imprisonment to impose hijab,
·
We consider dress freedom as a basic right of people,
·
We believe in banning the hijab for girls under 16, as it deprives them of a
happy, equal and active life, and violates their basic human rights,
·
We, alongside people in
·
We consider secularism as a pre - condition for women's liberation; we
alongside the majority of people in
Down with the Islamic
Freedom, Equality & Universal Rights for Women in
Azam Kamguian's speech given at
rallies held on