Analysis Our secularist society's ban on reality
HSBC censored ad on women in Iran
"Only 4% of American films are made by women. In Iran it's 25%" With these words, HSBC advertisers stepped into forbidden grounds. Or at least so deemed our secularist Western society.
The London-based bank HSBC was pressured to pull one of its December of 2010 ads, in which it illustrated the concept of tapping into potentials from unexpected places (Washington Post).
The advertisers were not aware of what a key taboo it is to challenge the caricatures against the Islamic Republic -- after all we are meant to believe Islam in politics is all about oppressing women --, and the display of an ounce of positivity about Iran saw HSBC bombarded with criticism from lobby groups and mainstream media, being ultimately forced to pull the ad. All under the excuse that it is irresponsible to confront the myth of female oppression in a Muslim society. Cries on female stoning repeatedly refuted (Nur ein Wort) and supposed infringement of anti-Iran sanctions were floated to add up to the case.
Woman in the Muslim society
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, 60% of higher education students and university professors are women, while our own Western studies of 2010 have determined that (World Public Opinion),
Something rather odd if women were being oppressed.
Yet our Western pillars of power (i.e. lobby private interest groups and media) seem to have a big problem dealing with reality. A reality which enables women in a Muslim society to engage in an active social role rather than be reduced to sexual objects easing the selling of unnecessary products. In his Final Testament and Will, Khomeini had made this idea explicit,
What does it all mean?
The ad might seem innocent to the unaware eye, but the rush of criticism it drew towards HSBC has only demonstrated how fundamental it is for our cultural warfare to never allow any ray of truth to shine from the other side of the fence. At the same time, it has highlighted the fragility of the stereotypes we have devised in order to keep people ignorant on what Islam really proposes to human kind.
If the undergoing economic failures of our unjust world model weren't enough, these desperate propaganda tactics unmistakably add up to the similarities between our current situation and that of people in the 1980s waiting for the Berlin Wall to collapse.
The London-based bank HSBC was pressured to pull one of its December of 2010 ads, in which it illustrated the concept of tapping into potentials from unexpected places (Washington Post).
The advertisers were not aware of what a key taboo it is to challenge the caricatures against the Islamic Republic -- after all we are meant to believe Islam in politics is all about oppressing women --, and the display of an ounce of positivity about Iran saw HSBC bombarded with criticism from lobby groups and mainstream media, being ultimately forced to pull the ad. All under the excuse that it is irresponsible to confront the myth of female oppression in a Muslim society. Cries on female stoning repeatedly refuted (Nur ein Wort) and supposed infringement of anti-Iran sanctions were floated to add up to the case.
Woman in the Muslim society
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, 60% of higher education students and university professors are women, while our own Western studies of 2010 have determined that (World Public Opinion),
(The current Iranian government) was reelected garnering majority support from women who went to the polls.
Something rather odd if women were being oppressed.
Yet our Western pillars of power (i.e. lobby private interest groups and media) seem to have a big problem dealing with reality. A reality which enables women in a Muslim society to engage in an active social role rather than be reduced to sexual objects easing the selling of unnecessary products. In his Final Testament and Will, Khomeini had made this idea explicit,
We are proud that our women, young and old, regardless of their status, are present and active, side by side with the men, often more active than men, in all scenes including cultural, economic and military areas.
Our women have extricated themselves from the deprivations imposed on them by the enemies of Islam and by the inadequate knowledge of friends of Islamic tenets. They have bravely discarded the superstitions created by enemies through some ignorant preachers.
What does it all mean?
The ad might seem innocent to the unaware eye, but the rush of criticism it drew towards HSBC has only demonstrated how fundamental it is for our cultural warfare to never allow any ray of truth to shine from the other side of the fence. At the same time, it has highlighted the fragility of the stereotypes we have devised in order to keep people ignorant on what Islam really proposes to human kind.
If the undergoing economic failures of our unjust world model weren't enough, these desperate propaganda tactics unmistakably add up to the similarities between our current situation and that of people in the 1980s waiting for the Berlin Wall to collapse.
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1 comments:
as an iranian woman ,i confirm this paper,iranians women are very present in society,they are seen very seriouse ,we are free,we works as well as men ,and nobody dare look at us less than human(like sexual material in western countris),if you want to know the fact about islamic countries ,talk directly to their people,dont trust media
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