I stand before you all today, with a serious story. It is unfortunately not a happy event like the 2010 coming to South Africa, but rather a sad story, which is reality.
Situated in Tehran, Iran, an 18-year-old Iranian girl, Nazanin had been sentenced to death for killing the man she says tried to rape her 15-year-old niece and her. They had been walking in the park, when 3 men started harassing them. The men pushed her on the floor and tried to rape her, to protect herself she took a knife out of her pocket and stabbed one of them in the hand. The girls tried to escape but the men overtook them, this is when she stabbed one of them in the chest, eventually killing him.
She had stated in court: “I did not want to kill him! I am not a bad-doer. Mr Judge, what do you want to do with me? I am a girl child! How many times do I have to say that I did it to defend myself and my niece?” At first the verdict was death by hanging, in the criminal court of the Islamic Republic of Iran. After a long period, during which Nazanin was jailed, she and her family went through a lot of struggling.
With the help of Allah and Former Iranian Miss World 2003, Nazanin Afsin-Jam, who helped Nazanin by drawing an international petition, this had helped her a lot. After 2 long years, Nazanin was granted a re-trial. This case had involved, the UN, with the secretary general Mr Kofi Annan addressing the matter. Finally after long consultation between judges, the incident was recognized as an act of self-defence. Accordingly, they asked Nazanin to pay retribution, blood money to receive pardon from the family of the deceased.
This is one of our sisters stories in the world which are having great difficulty been a women and standing up. Nazanin was a lucky girl, to be able to get international help and been able to stand up. Each day human rights are been violated. In Iran, boys can be executed from the age 15, and a girl from 9. Though executions are carried out at age 18. Each year at least 81 people are executed in Iran, in 2004 apparently 159 people were executed.
After hearing this do you believe women are treated justly. I don’t think so. Girls of today you are the mothers of the future, so stand for your rights and don’t let men run over you. I leave you with a point, a lawyer had said if that had been Nazanin killed by a man, he would have likely not have received the death sentence because the value of his life would be twice as much as Nazanin’s. Aren’t women suppose to be beholders to the future generations?
Thursday, June 28, 2007
My Day in Court
I had waited for this day all my life. Finally I had graduated with a degree in Law. It brought to me a sense of joy and relief which all exploded with a vast amount of feelings. This was all for the simple reasons of completing four years of intense studying and going to start work.
It all seemed very jolly and my expectations were completely opposite to what my first case would actually be. I hadn’t yet worked on any case individually, therefore the anxiety in my heart kept pumping vigorously. When I unlocked the case file with my crippled hands, the first words I seen was ‘DEBT’.
The bases of the case were simply defending a Christian merchant against a Jew. It never bothered me ever about conflict between religions especially Christian and Jew, thinking it was a new South Africa. The merchant had borrowed a sum of R100 000 and agreed on paying it on a certain date. The date had expired and the Jew had sued him. The men had, had a punishment stipulated before hand. The agreement was that the merchant would make his wife a slave to the Jew. To me it sounded like a joke, I really wonder what was going through their minds when agreeing to such a punishment. The problem arouse when the merchant and his wife had gotten divorced and the Jew insists on double the sum.
The first time I had met with my client, we had a very tense conversation. I had tried to extract every grain of the case from he’s perspective. The same day we went to court. Walking in to a full room of serious faces brought a shiver down my spine. I looked around and realised I was the only women in court. It sounded impossible but it was true, I walked sternly. So no man would undermine my abilities. A few faces smirked which grew anger in my soul.
We all sat. I glanced to my left to have a vision of the plaintiff. The case officially started. I cross-examined the plaintiff to figure weather he was a soft or hard hearted man. From what I could draw he insisted on double the sum and was not going to reason. This situation placed me in a difficult spot and I wouldn’t want to lose my first case or let down a broken hearted man. Finally, with all my courage and might I leapt up and said “have you no heart for a brother, he who is in difficulty of paying you. Your heart is filled with pride and no kindness. What do you have against a soul of a Christian? Is it that you a Jew and him of another faith?” This speech had brought a wide discussion. The discussion lasted a while until the judge grew impatient and decided on giving his verdict. My eyes stared at the judge, he then said, “what the lady has said is true, it is impossible to demand such a large sum. But there will be a punishment; the Christian will have to pay 20% interest of the sum. It is inhuman of asking for something as making a wife a slave. “Case Closed”
My brain froze. I could not believe that I had just won against men. I looked at my client he said he was pleased, this made me smile. I might have not won the entire case but I felt I did. It was an experience.
It all seemed very jolly and my expectations were completely opposite to what my first case would actually be. I hadn’t yet worked on any case individually, therefore the anxiety in my heart kept pumping vigorously. When I unlocked the case file with my crippled hands, the first words I seen was ‘DEBT’.
The bases of the case were simply defending a Christian merchant against a Jew. It never bothered me ever about conflict between religions especially Christian and Jew, thinking it was a new South Africa. The merchant had borrowed a sum of R100 000 and agreed on paying it on a certain date. The date had expired and the Jew had sued him. The men had, had a punishment stipulated before hand. The agreement was that the merchant would make his wife a slave to the Jew. To me it sounded like a joke, I really wonder what was going through their minds when agreeing to such a punishment. The problem arouse when the merchant and his wife had gotten divorced and the Jew insists on double the sum.
The first time I had met with my client, we had a very tense conversation. I had tried to extract every grain of the case from he’s perspective. The same day we went to court. Walking in to a full room of serious faces brought a shiver down my spine. I looked around and realised I was the only women in court. It sounded impossible but it was true, I walked sternly. So no man would undermine my abilities. A few faces smirked which grew anger in my soul.
We all sat. I glanced to my left to have a vision of the plaintiff. The case officially started. I cross-examined the plaintiff to figure weather he was a soft or hard hearted man. From what I could draw he insisted on double the sum and was not going to reason. This situation placed me in a difficult spot and I wouldn’t want to lose my first case or let down a broken hearted man. Finally, with all my courage and might I leapt up and said “have you no heart for a brother, he who is in difficulty of paying you. Your heart is filled with pride and no kindness. What do you have against a soul of a Christian? Is it that you a Jew and him of another faith?” This speech had brought a wide discussion. The discussion lasted a while until the judge grew impatient and decided on giving his verdict. My eyes stared at the judge, he then said, “what the lady has said is true, it is impossible to demand such a large sum. But there will be a punishment; the Christian will have to pay 20% interest of the sum. It is inhuman of asking for something as making a wife a slave. “Case Closed”
My brain froze. I could not believe that I had just won against men. I looked at my client he said he was pleased, this made me smile. I might have not won the entire case but I felt I did. It was an experience.
The Call
“Though justice be thy plea”
Proclaimed in high places
Among tribunals with sparkling robes
Though men might flea with or without true justice
What about thee
That justice hasn’t been proclaimed by
Among tribunals with sparkling robes
Justice needed by children in Iraq
Justice needed by people in war
We are fighting for justice and peace for all
But no man is answering the call
Proclaimed in high places
Among tribunals with sparkling robes
Though men might flea with or without true justice
What about thee
That justice hasn’t been proclaimed by
Among tribunals with sparkling robes
Justice needed by children in Iraq
Justice needed by people in war
We are fighting for justice and peace for all
But no man is answering the call
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