BY MICK MACDONALD
TORONTO - In the midst of a war drive by imperialist powers in Washington, Ottawa, and London against Iraq, Monira Kayhan and Nasreen Rizvi, two Muslim women, set up a table on "Positive Images of Women in Islam" at an International Women's Day event at Ryerson Polytechnic University here March 7. They displayed pictures of Muslim women in Iran carrying out various tasks in society, including debating in parliament, performing surgery, and teaching. The display featured leaflets depicting Islam as a "religion of peace" in contrast to propaganda in the big- business media equating Islam with "terrorism."

A crowd of 30-35 people led by the Worker-Communist Party of Iran as well as members of the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq, Socialist Action, and the Trotskyist League assaulted the two women and drove them out of the event. The assailants denounced the women as "agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and chanted "Down, Down, with Iran," and "Out, Out, Out" in Farsi and English.

At one point the crowd pushed the table over on top of one of the women, who was pregnant. Some placards read, "Stop sexual apartheid in Iran." Later that day the forces who had initiated the attack hosted a workshop on the alleged torture of women in Iran.

Marshals for the event, some pacifist activists, this reporter, members of the Communist League, and a few others linked arms and acted as a line of defense to prevent the thugs from assaulting the women further, while they were escorted out.

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) passed a resolution on March 16 approving of this attack. OCAP's tactics of picketing prominent individuals' private homes has caused controversy in recent months, leading the Canadian Auto Workers union to threaten to withdraw its funding of the group.

Kayhan and Rizvi replied to OCAP in an open letter on March 31. "Our purpose was to promote positive images of Muslim women, because of the fact that we are so often misunderstood. The society in general thinks of us as oppressed and mistreated. As Canadians, we cherish human rights and the opportunity to be respected when we express an opinion," they wrote. "We are not agents of the Iranian Government," the letter continued. "Here you have two Muslim women dressed with the Islamic scarf and all of a sudden, the idea of us being foreign government agents found quick acceptance. This form of discrimination disgusts us."

The Federation of Muslim Women also made a public statement, adding further, "It was men who intimidated, harassed, shouted at, and eventually physically threatened Muslim women in headscarves that day. "

On April 1, an evaluation meeting was held by the International Women's Day Committee. The meeting voted to condemn the attack and extend solidarity to the two women.

Speaking at the IWD meeting, Sylvie Charbin of the Communist League underlined how the demonization of the Iraqi and Iranian governments fits right in to the imperialists' war drive against the peoples of the region. She spoke of the strength of the revolutionary mobilizations of the Iranian people, who have not been defeated by foreign powers, and rejected the focus on them as victims, stressing their contribution as fellow fighters.

Participants at the meeting from the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq refused to vote in favor of a motion condemning anti-Muslim campaigns in Canada. This party was involved in organizing demonstrations in February during the stepped-up drive by Washington to bomb Iraq, denouncing Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and calling for his overthrow.

Mick MacDonald is a member of the Young Socialists. Katy LeRougetel, a member of United Steelworkers of America Local 5338, contributed to this article.  
 
 
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