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Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani Will Not Be Stoned, Hanging Is More Likely

Folks, we’ve had a small victory. Small. You may or may not be aware that Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani was to be stoned to death in Iran, because she had been convicted of adultery. Groups all over the world have put pressure on Iran to end the barbaric (and often misogynistic) practice of stoning.

According to the Guardian:

A 43-year-old Iranian woman will not be stoned to death after an international campaign launched by her children.

It is unclear whether the authorities have lifted the death sentence for alleged adultery against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani or if she faces execution by another means.

I see this as a good start, but only a start. With added pressure we just might be able to save a life. I won’t let myself believe that a less excruciating death is somehow a victory.

I do not believe that any religion would condemn a woman to death for sexual activity. I don’t care if she had a gang bang with a football team in front of a mosque.

Please continue contacting your elected officials, and The United Nations. Our message should change just slightly.You can copy and paste these into a twitter message:

@UN Please require that member nations not execute adulterers#Ashtiani http://bit.ly/Ashtiani

@UN_womenwatch Please require that member nations not execute adulterers #Ashtiani http://bit.ly/Ashtiani

I understand that these may seem basic, if you’re in a non-Muslim country it’s inconceivable to us that anyone would be put to death for sexual activity. The harsh reality is that women are abused and murdered regularly, and religion is used as an excuse.

I absolutely will not condemn Muslims here, I know wonderful Muslims and privately they condemn these murders as do I.

Please use the same messages as we did on my prior post, and rather than asking your public officials to save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani from Stoning, please ask them to save her from death.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is not the only woman sentenced to die for touching a man, she’s simply in the news this week.

This is also interesting timing as the United Nations is hosting an Online Discussion now through July 20th on the linkages between women’s and girls’ access to and participation in formal and non-formal education and training, and their equal access to full employment and decent work. This discussion is in preparation for the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Join them.

9 thoughts on “Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani Will Not Be Stoned, Hanging Is More Likely”

  1. Jessica, thank you for posting this update. I noticed the broadcaster referenced Lindsay Lohan’s involvement, which came about during last night’s TweetChat. There is power in action! Especially for someone who has >3/4 of a million followers.

    However, I’ve never believed this case was just about stopping “stoning” … it is about the unfair and barbaric treatment of women, and accusers who may say anything without fear of retribution, while a woman may be lashed 99 times in front of her children to secure a “confession” … while being charged in a language she doesn’t speak! Add to that the ludicrousness of sexual activity being punishable by death.

    This case is like an onion: so many layers to peel back and address. Thank you for your efforts.

  2. I think there is a typo there “You may or may not be aware that Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani was to be stoned to death in Iraq,”

    It is Iran, isn’t it?

  3. Jessica,

    Thanks for posting this, and doing your part to erradicate ridiculousness. I represent Third Option Men, an organization that disciples men, training them to become better men, husbands, and fathers. I first saw the article on CNN, and needless to say, was pretty pissed. Our daily blog today highlights this story (It’s a site for men, but you definitely get a free pass ;-)

    http://www.thirdoptionmen.org/blog/injustice-pisses/

  4. Stoning

    kill by stoning
    rebellions throwing cobblestones. No
    convicted to be killed

    Cut the rope I

    cut the rope from
    the neck of the convicted
    and bind the judge

    Cut the rope II

    put the judges to court
    and give them a fair trial
    for their death sentences

    Cut the rope III

    life is sacred
    no one may steal the right
    to breathe freely

  5. Did you see the bottom of the story?

    Mina Ahadi, a human rights activist in Germany who helped Mohammadi Ashtiani’s children launch their campaign internationally, says she is aware of 12 other women in Iran who face death by stoning.

    There are 12 other women who for the moment are nameless and faceless. Who will speak for them on the international stage. Not trying to say that we are wrong to try to save one, but….

  6. P.S. this reminds me of a quote from a Mark Steyn article.

    “In a more culturally confident age, the British in India were faced with the practice of “suttee” – the tradition of burning widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands. Gen. Sir Charles Napier was impeccably multicultural:

    “You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks, and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”

    And Iran is on the verge of acquiring nukes- just great.

  7. Wow I hope this is stopped. I noticed that no one is talking about the other guy involved here. What happened to him or do the women take all the blame?

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