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Via the Indomitable Bitch, we have a stomach-churning reminder of what patriarchy looks like in its natural state.

I'd heard of the case of Nazanin Mahabad Fateihi before, and I'd prayed that the Iranians would find a way to diffuse it, like the Afghans did with the Christian convert a while ago.

But no. At least as of the 19th, the 18 year-old Nazanin was still facing execution for defending herself and her niece from a pair of rapists (never mind the fact that had they been raped, they could have received 100 lashes for adultery).

For some reason, this one really makes me feel sick. I mean, not that it isn't plenty horrifying, but there are lots of horrifying stories out there. For me, there's always been something especially disturbing about state-sanctioned executions. Even with shit like Bosnia, you get the powers-that-be either denying that it's happening or blaming on "rogue elements." But with this kind of thing, you've got a bunch of judges, prosecutors, bailiffs, police, and the whole state "justice" apparatus not just admitting that it's happening, not just standing by and letting it happen, but calmly and deliberately making sure it happens. As awful as a lynching is, I find something like this far more disturbing.

And I guess maybe it is. As long as people are hiding, denying or blaming their crimes on someone else, then they're at least admitting that they're aware that the rest of the world community considers it barbaric, and they don't want to accept the consequences of openly admitting their behavior. As long as the execution is extra-legal, we can take comfort in the knowledge that it's not supposed to be that way--that the powers-that-be, at least in theory, find it unacceptable and could even prosecute it if they wished. When lynching was carried out by hooded rednecks in the middle of the night, there was at least the possibility that the FBI would swoop down and bust their party up. But when the lynching was carried out in broad daylight, with picnicking crowds arriving via excursion trains, no such comforting illusion is possible.

And that's about what we're looking at here. But this is not just another let's-depress-all-my-readers post. The Indomitable Bitch has assembled quite a list of things you can do. What I'd really like is for everyone to take on at least one of these, then report what you did in the comments. For the motivation-impaired, numbers 1, 7, 8 and 9 are particularly easy. I took on #4, and it would gratify me to know that it had at least some effect.

Thanks.

1. Help spread the story about Nazanin! Tell everyone you know, family, friends and others who might be interested. Direct them to this web page and ask them to take action for Nazanin.
2. Contact newspapers, TV-channels, blogs and other media and ask them to report this story.
3. US residents can contact local or national media via NOW.
4. Write about Nazanin in your own blog, homepage, or in internet forums or chat rooms you frequent.
5. Put a link to this page in your email signature or at your homepage.
6. Put one of these banners on your website.
7. Write the Iranian government or the Iranian embassy of your country, and demand that Nazanin's death sentence is commuted immediately. (About writing to the Iranian embassy).
8. Contact politicians/representatives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in your country and ask them to pressure Iran to commute the death sentence and free Nazanin. US representatives can be contacted via NOW.
9. Contact the United Nations Office of Human Rights and ask them to protest.
10. Sign and spread this petition, started by the Canadian model Nazanin Afshin-Jam.
11. Buy a T-shirt in support of Nazanin, designed by Lily Mazahery.