On the move.

ICORN Guest Writer Pegah Ahmadi (Iran/Frankfurt) visits a Stavanger High School and takes part as visiting lecturer for a week.

At last week's Writers' and Literary Translators' International Congress (WALTIC), Shahrazad proudly presented a panel of distinguished Iranian writers and human rights activists - Parvin Ardalan, Pegah Ahmadi and Asieh Amini - who discussed the current situation for women and freedom of expression in their home country. The discussion was moderated by Fataneh Farahani. Immediately following the event, we published Mrs Amini's contribution to the discussion here at Stories for life, and now we are happy to present Ms. Ahmadi's speech as well!

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Analyzing censorship of women's poetry in Iran

by Pegah Ahmadi, ICORN Guest Writer in Frankfurt City of Refuge 

To do any research about women's poetry and women's writings, first we have to look at the role of gender in society and literature. In under-developed societies, gender and consequences of gender identity have direct influences on the literary creations of women. Limitations, restrictions and obstacles that women are facing because of their gender, have direct influences on their writings. In addition, in under-developed societies and dictatorship societies, literary works and evaluation of literary works are influenced by gender. As Helene Cixous has said: "Women throughout the history have always been faced by three kinds of suppressions: suppression of woman herself, suppression of women's body and suppression of womanly language. She added: "Women must break the silence. The womanly language is the language in which a woman must write all women's characteristics including the specifics of her body."

In traditionally closed and totalitarian societies, women are suppressed and discriminated by society, the government and the family in the forms of fathers, brothers and husbands. Some of these discriminations are:

- Existence of laws, based on injustice and discriminations
- Lack of equal opportunities in the market place
- Discriminative punishment laws
- Efforts to lower and weaken women
- Denial of women's abilities and capabilities
- Creation of obstacles, limitations and restrictions on women's education and employment opportunities

In addition, history has shown that an Eastern woman also suffers from the following problems:

- Thoughts of self-guilt
- Self limitation and shyness
- Lack of individuality
- Fear
- Feelings of insecurity
- Feelings of uselessness, except in the role as a mother or a wife

All these limitations, restrictions and discriminations have been imposed on women by the male dominated society and unjust laws, rules and regulations. In such a society, any kind of creation and creativity by women count as disobedience, rebellion and even as a threat to the structure of the system. In such a society as it is, a woman suffers from being a woman, let alone being a writer or a poet. Therefore, a female writer faces enormous obstacles and difficulties such as censorship, limitations and restrictions in writing as well as humiliation and lack of mental and physical security. These factors cause women to feel threatened and fearful and eventually force them to be isolated from the society. A female writer or a poet, instead of focusing on her own creativity, has to put her effort and energy to find a way to free herself of the existing crisis.

Shahrazad Goes Global - visiting WALTIC in Istanbul!

In September, several ICORN Guest Writers, the ICORN Administration Center and Shahrazad - stories for life will participate in and meet with writers and translators from around the world at the second Writers' and Literary Translators' International Congress (WALTIC ) in Istanbul.