A popular uprising against oppression, heroic women at the forefront for equality, a shaken dictatorship: the revolt of the Iranian society since the death, on September 16, in Tehran, of Mahsa Amini, 22 years, after his arrest by the moral police, magnifies many values that the left has worn throughout its history. Logically, the parades at the cry of “woman, life, freedom”, the incredible spectacle of Iranian women snatching their scarves and burning them in joy fires, should have aroused massive support and enthusiastic solidarity actions.
Of course, feminist movements and left -wing elected officials participated in rallies, published support press releases. The Socialist Party “praised the courage of Iranian women” and rebellious France (LFI) paid tribute to “a citizen revolution of Iranian youth”. But the demonstrations were late, little followed, and the comments limited to generalities. As if the “rebellious” and the Greens, entangled in their affairs combining violence against women and battles of leadership, had little energy to devote to a major international event.
In reality, the Iranian antitchador revolt returns the left to a question that has continued to fracture it since 1989, the year of the fatwa against Salman Rushdie launched by Ayatollah Khomeyni, and the exclusion of students veiled by a Creil college. Is the Islamic scarf a clothing accessory whose meaning strictly falls under the free individual interpretation or a political vector of domination? The first answer is in the majority within the left gathered in the new Ecological and Social People’s Popular Union (Nuts).
Political oppression instrument
“If you decide how women should dress, you won’t get out of it,” said Jean-Luc Mélenchon , on C8, in February, evoking the scarf of “Grandmothers Good Catholics”, which “was not a problem”. A positioning to be compared to 69 % of the votes of Muslim voters , according to a study by Ifop, which the leader of LFI collected in the first round of the April presidential election. As for Sandrine Rousseau (Europe (Europe Ecologie-les Verts), during an interview on LCP, at the end of 2021, she said he was “desperate [er] that the body of women and the way in which they dress their bodies are still a subject”. Affirming that “women who are veiled are not political Islam”, she believes that some “wear [the veil for reasons] which are just a beautification”.
You have 56.23% of this article to read. The continuation is reserved for subscribers.