Tag: religion

‘It is not possible to organise in Iran’: jailed activist warns of totalitarianism after Mahsa Amini protests

Majid Tavakoli says protesters should have had more help from abroad but the west doesn’t understand what Iran has become The majority of Iranians wish for a “normal life and for a government similar to the governments based on the liberal democratic system”, one of Iran’s most prominent political activists has said, as he prepares… Read More ‘It is not possible to organise in Iran’: jailed activist warns of totalitarianism after Mahsa Amini protests

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Iranian women know which battles to fight. They’ve been doing it for decades

Mahnaz Afkhami On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish Iranian woman, died while she was in the custody of Iran’s morality police for the “crime” of inadequate veiling. This event spearheaded an uprising that soon captured global attention and gained support, from grassroots activists to world leaders. As we have come to expect, the Iranian regime reacted to the uprising… Read More Iranian women know which battles to fight. They’ve been doing it for decades

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Vatican beatifies Polish family executed by Nazis for sheltering Jews

The Vatican has beatified a Polish family of nine – a married couple and their small children – who were executed by the Nazis during the second world war for sheltering Jews. During a ceremonious mass in the village of Markowa, in south-east Poland, the papal envoy Cardinal Marcello Semeraro read out the Latin formula of the… Read More Vatican beatifies Polish family executed by Nazis for sheltering Jews

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‘Gender apartheid’: UN experts denounce Iran’s proposed hijab law

A new draft law that would enshrine harsh punishments for women and girls who fail to wear a hijab in Iran could amount to “gender apartheid,” UN experts said in a statement on Friday. “The draft law could be described as a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to be governing through systemic discrimination… Read More ‘Gender apartheid’: UN experts denounce Iran’s proposed hijab law

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Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The current talk of decolonisation is about an exclusionary political agenda

Current decolonisation project drips with resentment. It conflates modernity merely with colonialism. To see the insidiousness of this project, just ask this question: What should be the terms on which citizens relate to each other? “Decolonise!” This imperative seems to be the ideological flavour of the moment. It is behind the calls to restructure education,… Read More Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The current talk of decolonisation is about an exclusionary political agenda

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The Decreationist

Simone Weil’s thoughts on the unmaking of the self.. the postwar publication of the great bulk of her writings, including The Need for Roots, was overseen by one of her greatest admirers, Albert Camus. By Robert Zaretsky Eighty years ago on this date, one of the 20th century’s most unusual and unsettling thinkers died at… Read More The Decreationist

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The world is burning. Who can convince the comfortable classes of the radical sacrifices needed?

Simone Weil’s life illustrates the capacity to give up the things we feel we’re owed – such as a carbon-intensive consumer-driven lifestyle Justine Toh Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The saying takes on new meaning after the hottest July ever, devastating wildfires in Greece and Canada, and the declaration by the UN secretary general, António Guterres,… Read More The world is burning. Who can convince the comfortable classes of the radical sacrifices needed?

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Taliban’s war on women must be formally recognized as gender apartheid

Vrinda Narain The second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is fast approaching. Since then, Afghan women have been denied the most basic human rights in what can only be described as gender apartheid. Only by labelling it as such and making clear the situation in Afghanistan is a crime against humanity can the… Read More Taliban’s war on women must be formally recognized as gender apartheid

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Famed Iranian director sentenced to prison over Cannes Film Festival screening

Famed Iranian director Saeed Roustaee has been sentenced to six months in prison, according to local reports, after presenting his most-recent film at the Cannes International Film Festival last year. Roustaee screened the film “Leila’s Brothers,” a movie about a family in Tehran trying to make ends meet, in competition for the Palme d’Or, the… Read More Famed Iranian director sentenced to prison over Cannes Film Festival screening

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