So. Let's pretend that you, an unmarried adult, live in the United States and are having a sexual relationship with a consenting partner. Grand. Have fun.
Be safe. Now let's pretend that you, an unmarried adult, live in Iran, and are having a sexual relationship with a consenting partner. Slightly different story: you and your partner are going to be imprisoned and then stoned to death.
Jafar Kiani and Mokarrameh Ebrahimi were, it appears, living in sin. A month ago, he was executed. She is now awaiting the same fate.
Tragically, this is not unusual – though killing the male partner is a bit so. Stoning deaths are a form of "honor killings" that are usually committed against girls and women who have brought "dishonor" upon the family by doing crazy things like: refusing an arranged marriage, suffering a sexual assault, seeking a divorce or having sex outside of marriage. UNFPA estimates that at least 5,000 women are murdered annually this way.
Several months ago, in fact, a 17 year old girl in Iraq was ambushed by a group of 1000 men. As she cried for help, the men stripped her naked, kicked her and then threw stones at her head until she died. Her crime: Meeting her boyfriend, who was of another culture.
Clearly, there is a compelling global need to address the larger issue of creating a culture that properly values girls, women and sexuality. In the short-term, how 'bout we try to save Mokarrameh by calling Iranian officials and demanding an end to this barbaric practice?
Phone numbers, courtesy of Salon.com are here:
And/or you can sign this petition:
http://www.meydaan.org/stoning/petition.aspx?cid=46&pid=9
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