Hello All,
a week ago I received a kind request from our Iranian friend Negar regarding the protests that are growing in her country after the death of Mahsa Amini (see Negar's note).
After some consideration, even with the feedback from some friends, we've decided to start a new project, entitled 'WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM' .
We'll use the googlegroup 26. Poetry from Iran to collect poems and also short stories for this anthology (see below).Here is Negar's note:______________________________Dear fellow poets,On 16 September 2022, the 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini (#MahsaAmini) was arrested and then beaten to death by Iranian "morality police of Islamic Republic" for not wearing the hijab in accordance with the islamic standards set by the government.
Amini's death resulted in a series of large-scale protests in Tehran and across the country, and even garnered a statement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees focusing on violence against women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The government's response to the protest has been brutal: the internet was shut down and the police has opened fire on the demonstrators. Yet the number of people protesting has grown and more and more public figures are supporting us, in Iran and from abroad.Indeed we can't accept to be silenced because we are #MahsaAminis’ voice.This is not just a feminist protest, but rather it is a protest for protecting the human rights of everyone: women and men, girls and boys, religious and non-religious people.This is why I'm reaching out to you: to invite you to write poems and/or short stories about and for the Iranian people, so as to make our message stronger.Poems and short stories will be collected and published by Fabrizio Frosini & Poets Unite Worldwide: an Anthology for #MahsaAmini, Iran and Iranian people with the title "Women, Life, Freedom" -- it is the slogan of our movement, the Iranian women's movement against compulsory hijab.Please, help us to make the whole world hear our voice!Thank you very much for your helpKind regards,
Negar
The poets/writers who want to take part in this anthology can ask for registration.
After registration, you can submit your entries through the GROUP EMAIL: 26-poetry...@googlegroups.comSubmissions:
-- UP to 3 (three) POEMS (of any length)
and/or
-- 1 (one) SHORT STORYDEADLINE : NOVEMBER 30
CheersF.______P.S.:The deadline of the other publishing project ["Fire, Water, Hunger, War: A Collapsing World"] is December 15.
Participants in this anthology must send their poems to the group 12. Poetry for Our Planet -- the registered poets can submit their contribution directly to the Group EMAIL : 12-poetry-fo...@googlegroups.com
'WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM', an update:Protests in Iran keep on, despite hundreds of protesters have been killed* by security forces — *and more than 30 children are among the dead.Parents of Iranian youth are increasingly describing murdered protesters as martyrs of freedom:The father of one killed protester told mourners that his son described Mahsa Amini’s death as an impetus for change at his 40-day commemoration ceremony on October 29.Another father of a killed protester similarly described his son as a martyr at his funeral on October 31.The mother of another killed protester described her son as someone who gave his life to the Iranian nation at his 40-day commemoration ceremony on November 4.The parent of a young Iranian protester told that she felt compelled to ”reclaim Iran” for her daughters and all Iranian girls on November 3.On the "opposite side":The Iranian government is attempting to mobilize pro-regime rally honoring a historic female Shia martyr, presented as a model of female Islamic dignity, and even framing its policies as "pro-women."Armed Forces General Staff Cultural and Propaganda Deputy Abol Fazl Sherkachi claimed that the regime defends Iranian women against Western countries that seek "to commoditize them," while a female Basij Organization member similarly denounced Western standards of gender equality._______________This is to remind you of the appeal of our Iranian friends:
Dear fellow poets,
On 16 September 2022, the 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini (#MahsaAmini) was arrested and then beaten to death by Iranian "morality police of Islamic Republic" for not wearing the hijab in accordance with the islamic standards set by the government.
Amini's death resulted in a series of large-scale protests in Tehran and across the country, and even garnered a statement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees focusing on violence against women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The government's response to the protest has been brutal: the internet was shut down and the police has opened fire on the demonstrators. Yet the number of people protesting has grown and more and more public figures are supporting us, in Iran and from abroad.
Indeed we can't accept to be silenced because we are #MahsaAminis’ voice.
This is not just a feminist protest, but rather it is a protest for protecting the human rights of everyone: women and men, girls and boys, religious and non-religious people.
This is why I'm reaching out to you: to invite you to write poems and/or short stories about and for the Iranian people, so as to make our message stronger.
Poems and short stories will be collected and published by Fabrizio Frosini & Poets Unite Worldwide: an Anthology for #MahsaAmini, Iran and Iranian people with the title "Women, Life, Freedom" -- it is the slogan of our movement, the Iranian women's movement against compulsory hijab.
Please, help us to make the whole world hear our voice!
Thank you very much for your help
_______________
The poets/writers who want to take part in this anthology can ask for registration.
After registration, you can submit your entries to the GROUP EMAIL: 26-poetry...@googlegroups.comSubmissions:
- UP to 3 (three) POEMS (of any length)
and/or