Iran’s Revolution, Abortion and Community
Where were you when you heard?
A quick check-in with the news before a morning appointment, and I saw the leaked Supreme Court draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. My heart caved in, my breath left me, and I didn't know how to react– because it was just a draft. A draft of how a majority-male court with one justice accused of sexual harrassment and another of sexual assault, would trash my right to my body.
Zan, Zendegi, Azadi!
Woman, Life, Freedom!
The blazing fire of woman-led revolution rages in Iran, in its sixth week. Action sparked by the murder of 22-year old Mahsa Amini on September 16th by the morality police, who violently police women's bodies and especially "correct" wearing of the hijab.
Masih Alinejad, Iranian-American journalist and activist, explains how the compulsory hijab is "a tool for Iranian regime to control the entire society through women. That is why they are scared– if women get successful to tear this wall down, then the Islamic Republic won't exist."
Why is a piece of fabric, and its removal, so powerful?
It's about controlling the body.
Your body is your vessel for as long as you're on this Earth. It's how you engage with your world, and through your senses you experience life. Your body is how you communicate and connect with others, building collective power.
Just like the hijab, the abortion battle has always been about controlling the body, and through this controlling society.
What did you feel when you learned the final Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade?
I was shocked. I cried and yelled, and then I felt empty. I felt helpless.
There is a particular pain of losing the right to your own body, and seeing so many people lose their rights. The resulting protection responses are different for each person, but have one common effect– pulling you out of balance, and undermining your ability to act and communicate.
By balance I do not mean being without emotion. Balance is a state where we are rooted, able to hold space for processing complex and intense emotions. Then we can transform this energy into action. Our voices are free to channel this energy, creating sounds, words, story, chants, music to amplify what needs to be expressed.
We are open and receptive, ready to hear– to listen to one another, to the ancestors, to what every part of you wants to express—your anger, grief, confusion, hope. Ready to witness one another, and turn towards our collective challenges.
So many of us have been taught to hide our voices, especially on "controversial" topics. Or we don't know how to bring up serious topics, so instead avoid them.
When we speak from the heart and give one another our full presence, this opens new channels for healing and builds community power. This is the purpose of my latest experiment– Breathe Free Circles.
Collective processing spaces, once a month at the waning gibbous. Heal through connection– to yourself, your full emotional landscape, your voice, and community.