We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects. --Herman Melville
Heroes
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
--Gandhi
Following a 28-day incarceration in a notorious Tehran prison and a 10-month travel ban, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) graduate student Esha Momeni returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Esha was arrested in Iran on Oct. 15, 2008 for researching the Iranian women's movement. After two months of conducting research for her thesis and visiting family, Esha was pulled over on Modarres Highway in Tehran. The undercover police who stopped her claimed she had made an illegal pass. They took Esha to her family's home and searched it, confiscating her computer and video footage she'd filmed for her thesis about the Iranian women's movement. She was held in solitary confinement in the notorious Evin Prison, without bail, until Nov. 10, 2008.
Before her release, Esha was charged with acting against national security. Her academic research focused on Change For Equality, a group working to change Iranian laws that discriminate against women. Esha was conducting interviews in the homes of members involved in the One Million Signatures Campaign-an effort to collect signatures from Iranians who seek gender equality in their country.
When bail was granted, Esha's family paid it ($200,000) by mortgaging their home. The Iranian government would not return her passport, and, later issued an official travel ban. That meant Esha was not permitted to leave Iran, return home to Los Angeles, or finish her academic studies as planned. Her legal problems are shared by others in Iran. According to a special report by UN human rights experts, the Iranian government has been cracking down on women's rights advocates engaged in non-violent activities. As of November 2008, the U.N. issued communications to Iran about human rights violations against more than 70 members of the One Million Signatures Campaign.
This is a great, informative video about the One Million Signatures Campaign, which esha was documenting for her thesis. more amazing info. on their website www.campaign4equality.info/english/
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Thanks again to everyone on MySpace for taking action and supporting Esha. It's astonishing to know so many people care. To paraphrase one of those people: Esha's story transcends differences, nationality, ethnicity, gender. You don't have to know her personally to understand that her human rights are in jeopardy.
Who I'd like to meet:
Esha was born in Los Angeles in 1980 and has dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship. During the turmoil of the Iranian revolution and war with Iraq, her parents moved the family to Iran to be near loved ones and help with the rebuilding efforts (her father is a civil engineer).
Since childhood, Esha has been passionate about artistic expression and helping others. She studied traditional Iranian music, plays the tar, and performed professional with a classical music group. In 2002, she earned a BA in graphic design at the Azad University of Tehran where she produced two short films, wrote for a student magazine, and worked with different art groups. She also volunteered as an art teacher at the Ameneh Orphanage.
After a short, but agonizing experience in an abusive marriage, Esha dedicated herself to using art to redefine her own life and to give a voice to others. She returned to the United States in 2006 to pursue a master's degree in mass communications at CSUN.
Americans' perceptions of Iran shocked Esha. She wanted to help clear up people's misconceptions and for them to see an accurate depiction of Iranian women. This was one reason she chose to produce a documentary about the One Million Signatures Campaign for her thesis. She belongs to the California branch of Campaign for Equality, a grassroots movement also called the One Million Signatures Campaign, actively collecting 1 million signatures to seek better treatment of women in Iran. Visiting Iran to film interviews with campaign members was essential to her academic work.
FOR THE MOST RECENT UPDATES and accurate information:
what little I can do, I ought to it just seems too much like Mona, and I really don't want that to happen ever again please don't thank me, I should be thanking you all for bringing it to the attention of so many people
screening of a documentary on Shirley Chisholm, first African American Woman Congressperson and 1972 presidential candidate. Freedom and Justice Activist. WED. nOV 19TH Manzanita Hall 122, 12:30-2PM
Mad thanks to Kara, Anassa, John and all the other folks who rallied behind Esha and joined together in support!!!! Love you guys and can't wait to give Esha a big ol' hug. Thanks again!!! In solidarity, Sarah
There are no words to describe the happiness and relief I am feeling right now. I am so proud of this group of grad students and all the volunteers. Now it is time to celebrate. See you there!
Comments
Aug 20 2009 2:40 AM
Aug 20 2009 2:40 AM
Aug 14 2009 1:35 PM
Aug 14 2009 1:35 PM
Feb 26 2009 12:26 AM
Jan 11 2009 7:07 PM
BRING ESHA HOME NOW
HOW LONG IS TOO LONG
LIFE IS A STRUGGLE
WE MUST FIGHT EITHER WITH WORDS OR BLOWS
BUT IT IS A STRUGGLE!
Dec 8 2008 6:55 PM
Dec 4 2008 4:20 PM
Dec 4 2008 10:27 AM
peace.
-j
Dec 4 2008 9:08 AM
it just seems too much like Mona, and I really don't want that to happen ever again
please don't thank me, I should be thanking you all for bringing it to the attention of so many people
Nov 18 2008 9:40 PM
Nov 17 2008 9:24 PM
Manzanita Hall 122, 12:30-2PM
Nov 15 2008 10:47 AM
Nothing is more important than that we keep this vigil alive until she can roam freely again.
Nov 13 2008 9:42 PM
Nov 13 2008 6:03 PM
Nov 13 2008 4:29 PM
Nov 13 2008 5:23 AM
Nov 13 2008 2:40 AM
Nov 11 2008 8:04 AM
We'll still be going to the vigil.
<3
Nov 10 2008 8:40 PM
Nov 10 2008 8:37 PM
See you Wednesday.
Nov 10 2008 8:03 PM
In solidarity,
Sarah
Nov 10 2008 7:40 PM
THANK GOD ALMIGHTY IM FREE @ LAST!!! MY THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE GIFT OF GOD!!!
Nov 10 2008 5:51 PM
Nov 10 2008 6:02 PM