From the ArcaMax Publishing, Kathleen Parker Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/kathleenparker/s-570145-459113
WASHINGTON -- Every revolution needs a unifying symbol, and members of
Iran's opposition movement now have theirs.
That was one dumb sniper who took out the young woman millions now
know as Neda. Or was he?
No one seems to know the identity of the rooftop shooter who pierced
Neda's heart with a bullet Saturday. Was he a Basij sniper, as some
witnesses have reported? Was it a mistake? Or did the shooter see an
opportunity to create a necessary martyr?
The thought is inescapable that the beautiful Neda Agha Soltan might
have been selected from the crowd not to scare away protesters, but to
unite them.
It is not impossible to imagine that someone had a greater
purpose in mind for the young philosophy student. If stories emerging
from Iran are accurate, even Neda seemed to anticipate what might
happen. When a friend begged her not to join the protesters, Neda
said: "It's just one bullet and it's over."
Just one bullet was all it took. Neda reportedly died within two
minutes, blood seeping from her nose and mouth as onlookers shouted
"Do not be afraid." That phrase, a single word in Farsi, has become a
chant among protesters.
In a matter of hours, a video of Neda's death was circulated through
YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. No matter who pulled the trigger or
why, Neda is now the undisputed symbol of reform-minded Iranians'
demand for freedom.
What follows next is by no means predictable, but history provides
hints. Neda's anointment as a martyr could become crucial in the next
month. Followers of the Shiite branch of Islam participate in cycles
of mourning -- on the third, seventh and 40th days after death. These
cycles served as rallying points during the 1979 revolution and
conceivably could serve the same purpose now.
In the meantime, it is reasonable to ask why Neda so captured the
imagination when many others have died since the June 12 election. On
the same day that Neda died, at least 9 other protesters were killed.
At first, reports were that she was a teenager, just 16, walking with
her father. Perhaps the world's initial reaction was tied to the
belief that the government had slaughtered a child. Later, we learned
that Neda was 26 and that the man with her was her music teacher. By
then, the image of the young woman's dying face was firmly imprinted
on the international psyche and the mythology of Neda had taken root.
What of all those others? Were they only men? Were they not as
beautiful?
We are a video culture attracted to drama and beauty, an admission of
which does not diminish the tragedy of Neda's death or the terrible
loss for her family and friends. But as the days unfold, it will be
interesting to watch how Neda, whose name means "The Voice" or "The
Calling," is incorporated into the developing narrative of Iran and
especially of Iranian women.
In fact, the protest movement's martyr needed to be a woman. And she
needed to be a modern woman. It is noteworthy that Neda was wearing
jeans and sneakers, uniform of the West, rather than the traditional
garb of hijab or chador. Whatever's one attitude toward Muslim dress
-- and many women don't feel the need to buck tradition -- it was
clearly Neda's choice to ignore her government's preference that women
hide their feminine features.
What better symbol for the repressive rule of old clerics than a
liberated beauty brutally cut down in the prime of youth?
Symbolically, Neda's death isn't about voting irregularities, but
about the clash between superstitions that justify men's dominion over
women and the universal yearning for freedom.
Women's rights were at the center of opposition candidate Mir Hossein
Mousavi's reform agenda. His wife, Zahra Rahnavard -- in stark
contrast to the nearly invisible wife of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- was
front and center throughout the campaign urging a "religious
democracy, which would allow young women of our time to thrive and
flourish by providing them with security, freedom, and employment."
That message may have been the sniper's target. With his bullet, he
delivered another: Women either will behave and follow the rules, or
they will die. Whatever the shooter's true aim, the body he left in
the street has become immortal in the story of Iran.
Neda -- the voice of freedom -- can never be silenced now.
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Kathleen Parker's e-mail address is kparker@kparker.com