MOJGAN KERMASHANI

News Center - The recent Russian war in Ukraine has very negative impact on the world and the region. Displacement, poverty, and the reproduction of violence are among the visible negative effects of war, and its effects will be more visible in the future. In fact, the reality of war can be seen in the Middle East because this region has been suffering from an endless war for centuries. Poverty, forced displacement, and violence against civilians, particularly against women, are prominent features of the wars. Women and children are the biggest victims of war. Sexual violence against women in wars has long been described as part of masculinity, and the hegemons have seen violence as a means of empowering themselves.

Hundreds of women have been raped by Russian soldiers in the recent war in Ukraine, according to the UN.  Authors as an active part of society have always been opposed to the wars and violence against the people by authoritarians and hegemons. Novelist and author Rana Soleimani is one of the authors, who challenged gender discrimination and authoritarianism in her books. We interviewed her about masculinity and its role in reproducing violence and generating war.

“War is a continuation of policy by other means”

Citing Clausewitz's most famous saying about war, “War is a continuation of policy by other means,” Rana Soleimani said, “Wars are the result of the maldistribution of power, meaning that wars break out whenever economic powers change. The main reason for wars is the economy because our thousand-year-old society is based on patriarchy and the patriarchy needs the economy to maintain itself. It needs to exploit. Men have political and economic power and it can be said that masculinity generates war. As long as there is no gender equality, the world will suffer from more exploitation, gender-based violence, honor killings, and wars.” 

“Women are regarded as spoils of war”

Emphasizing the effects of war on civilians, Rana Soleimani said, “Women and children are the biggest victims of war. Whenever a war breaks out, humanity is destroyed. Men, women, old and young, and even the unborn babies are sacrificed.”

Recalling that women are regarded as spoils of war by occupying forces, including ISIS, she said, “The sexual abuse against women on battlefields is a form of spoils of war. Women and children are also the biggest victims of rape in war.”

“We rise from the ruins of the shameful history”

Reminding that the written history of humanity is full of wars and plunder, the author added, “Unfortunately, we rise from the ruins of the shameful history. Or we collapse. Men or women don’t start war but masculinity. Men and women must join hands in the struggle for equality in order to exist together. Otherwise, all kinds of oppression, war, and violence will spread all around the world. We must heal the wounds of humanity together to save it.”

Rana Soleimani concluded her speech by reading the “Still I Rise” poem written by American poet Maya Angelou. “You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies, / You may trod me in the very dirt / But still, like dust, I'll rise /Does my sassiness upset you? /Why are you beset with gloom?/’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells/ Pumping in my living room/ Just like moons and like suns,/With the certainty of tides,/Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise /Did you want to see me broken?/Bowed head and lowered eyes?/Shoulders falling down like teardrops,/ Weakened by my soulful cries?/ Does my haughtiness offend you?/ Don’t you take it awful hard/ ’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines/ Diggin’ in my own backyard/You may shoot me with your words/ You may cut me with your eyes/You may kill me with your hatefulness/But still, like air, I’ll rise/Does my sexiness upset you?/ Does it come as a surprise/That I dance like I’ve got diamonds/ At the meeting of my thighs?/Out of the huts of history’s shame/I rise/ Up from a past that’s rooted in pain/I rise/ I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide/Welling and swelling I bear in the tide/Leaving behind nights of terror and fear/I rise/ Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear/I rise/ Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave/I am the dream and the hope of the slave/ I rise.”