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'Discrimination against women is a
hallmark of the world today'. 'The
Worker-communist party struggles for the full and unconditional equality
of women and men, the immediate repealing of all laws and regulations
that violate this principle.'
The above are the words of Mansoor Hekmat,
the great Marxist thinker
and leader of the Worker-communist movement. Those who are familiar with
and have read his work, have listened to his speeches, and known him
personally will recognise his uncompromising, direct and profound humanist
voice. He was a unique Marxist leader who cannot be separated from the
history of his time as he has influenced and affected it. He based his
theories on humanity and human interest regardless of sex, race, nationality
and religion and managed to change people's expectations and attitudes
towards life wherever his writings and his voice reached.
As far as the women's movement is concerned,
his ideas have provided
the best guiding light for activists in this field. He has either been
directly or indirectly involved in the establishment, expansion and launching
of campaigns against sexual apartheid in Iran, stoning, and Islamic laws.
As in many other areas, he was path breaking, innovative and original
in his struggle for equality and women's emancipation.
Zhoobin Razani (Mansoor Hekmat) was born
into an educated, middle class family in Tehran in 1951. His father was
a civil servant and lectured at the University of Tehran; his mother a
head teacher and later a lawyer. He grew up playing football in the vast
yet un-built areas of Tehran, enjoying the freedoms of childhood. Like
many boys his age, his ambition was to become a football player. He joined
football teams and played several matches for his schools. He was more
of an out-door boy and rebel than a teacher's pet. Yet he did very well
at school and achieved great marks in his studies. He was particularly
good at maths.
Politically, his family was mainly opponents
to the Iranian monarchs and in favour of secular, left ideas. Religion,
superstitions and sexism were challenged in his family; naturally at a
very young age he became familiar with and treasured concepts like socialism,
freedom and equality. He followed the events of Vietnam and the Cuban
revolution closely, as these were issues that concerned his generation.
Zhoobin had an independent mother who worked as a teacher and lawyer,
an authoritative grandmother who was in charge of the administration of
a large hospital in Tehran, and aunts who were all educated and modern
women. Naturally, in his family, traditional gender roles and gender diversities
were modified and he grew up regarding women as equal human beings. This
certainly left a positive mark on him and influenced his political ideas.
According to him, in a society where women are degraded and humiliated,
men cannot be freed either.
Giving up the prospect of becoming a football
player, he entered the University of Shiraz to study economics and very
soon found himself reading and getting to know the great thinkers of the
world, such as Smith, Hegel and Marx. 'The university did not make me
join in any political movement at the time, but it made me a Marxist.
When I graduated, I considered myself a Marxist' (A close up interview
with Mansoor Hekmat, by Ali Javadi in 2001). It was, however, in 1973,
when he went to England for his postgraduate studies that Zhoobin started
reading Marx in a more serious manner and went in search of answers to
his fundamental questions. In Marx's work, he discovered a human-based
ideology, which had been forgotten by traditional left thinkers who were
influenced mainly by the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, or China's Maoism
that in his view had nothing to do with socialism and Marxism. Apart from
its
scientific and concise economic theories, it was Marx's revolutionary
practice
and its endeavour to change the unjust world and build a better one based
on human interests that attracted Zhoobin's young, searching mind.
For him Marxism was a way forward in emancipating humankind from exploitation
and inequality in the form of wage slavery and at the same time
from religion, superstition, nationalism and all other degrading ideas
and rules. As he read on, he realised how Marxism has been misinterpreted,
misrepresented and misunderstood by movements of classes other than
working class.
Luckily, the 70s were still the years of
rebelling and radical movements in Britain and Europe and the young generation
was still enjoying the freedoms and achievements gained in the past two
decades. Zhoobin joined discussion groups and explored most left-wing
organisations. He listened to different versions of Marxism, thought about
various interpretations of it and studied the national, radical movements
that called themselves Marxist. Yet he was determined to refer to Marx
directly. He insisted on reading Marx independently and learning from
Marx himself.
He studied his postgraduate at the University
of Canterbury in Kent, did his MA at Bath University and was half way
through his PHD when the revolution broke out in Iran and he retuned to
the heart of events to test his findings and play his part in history.
"I was supposed to write about the 'Development of capitalism in
Iran' for my PHD thesis. From Tehran I wrote to my tutor in London and
told him: I intended to stay in Iran, because what I wanted to write my
thesis about was already happening at that time. He wrote back and wished
me luck."
There was of course more to Zhoobin's life
than politics and reading rooms. He was a passionate, lively character,
loved music, played the guitar and wrote songs. He enjoyed comedy and
satire and read mystery books.
In 1979 at the time of revolution, he began
his joint life with Azar Majedi. The pair had a lot in common. In addition
to being a young, lovely and ambitious couple, they were both from educated,
leftist families and had similar political interests. Azar Majedi was
an activist in the women's movement and worked with anti-apartheid organisations
when studying French Literature and International Relations abroad. According
to Azar, this was 'a beautiful life' which lasted 24 years until the death
of Zhoobin in July 2002.
In 1979 Zhoobin and his friend Hamid Taghvaie
formed an organisation
called the Union of Communist Militants (UCM), which published a journal
called 'Towards Socialism' that discussed the most pressing issues of
Revolutionary Marxism and the revolutionary society of that time. Thanks
to the revolutionary environment between February 1979 and June 1981,
there was a semi-democratic climate that allowed Revolutionary Marxism
to spread throughout the country. Zhoobin's controversial ideas managed
to attract a considerable amount of attention in no time. He wrote
several essays, books and articles discussing the key subjects of
revolution.
Populism was dominant among the Iranian left,
the majority of which was
legitimising its defence of the reactionary Islamic government as an
anti-imperialist tactic. Zhoobin wrote 'The myth of progressive national
bourgeoisie' a brilliant adaptation of 'Das Capital', criticising
Iranian capitalism and its counter-revolutionary regime.
In June 1981, the new Islamic government
launched a savage onslaught
and arrested, tortured and killed thousands of communists and opponents
of the government. What happened on 20 June 1981 was unprecedented in
Iran's contemporary history in its barbarism and cruelty. The days after
that were dark and bloody. Young girls were raped in prison hours
before their execution, bodies were buried in mass graves miles away from
public cemeteries; even mourning for one's loved ones was forbidden and
dangerous. Prisons were overcrowded and tortures were beyond
comprehension.
Narrowly escaping prison and death, Zhoobin
and his partner, Azar
Majedi, along with the remaining UCM leadership, went to liberated areas
of
Kurdistan in 1982, where a revolutionary organisation, Komala, was
involved in an armed struggle against the Islamic regime. It was there
and
then that he became Mansoor Hekmat and found the Communist Party of
Iran (CPI), uniting different fractions and organisations of Revolutionary
Marxist groups. In the draft of the CPI's programme, which he wrote in
1983, he specifically points to the eradication of discriminatory laws
against women and advocates complete equal rights for women and men.
Mansoor Hekmat's party and ideas has had
a great influence on the lives
of Kurdish women. Thanks to the CPI's guerrilla organisation, the idea
of equality was widely spread in Kurdish regions, where women were most
oppressed under primitive, tribal and religious traditions. It was this
party under Hekmat's leadership that for the first time allowed women
to join the armed resistance and equally take part in the fight against
the central oppressive Islamic government. This was a new development
for Kurdish society in which women had always played a marginal role in
political life. Perusing equality and women rights was not easy and
took a long time to establish modern, civilised and progressive values
and
get women into the higher ranks of the party. Women had to fight
inequality and anti-women traditions not only in the society and against
the
government, but also within the party and against its nationalist
factions, for whom the guerrilla tradition was a male business.
Those who have worked closely with Mansoor
Hekmat do remember how
important the issues of equality were for him. He was sensitive and
impatient about the patriarchal tendency among guerrillas and criticised
it on
every occasion. He encouraged women to participate in party
discussions, write in party organs and take up important positions.
His down to earth character, his modest and
approachable personality
and his fun and witty manners made him loved by everyone. He was someone
to turn to; no matter how young or old one was or what his position in
the party was, Mansoor Hekmat (known also as Nader) treated everyone as
his equal and with respect.
Mansoor Hekmat's writings are unique, both
in style and originality.
The majority of his writings have become classics of Marxism in Iran.
Hamid Taghvaie, his lifelong comrade, describes his writings, as 'clear,
sharp, down to earth and profound. His style of writing is lucid and
lively. They remain intelligible even when his subject matter is the most
abstract theoretical issues. His prose like the content of his writings
is unprecedented in Iran's political literature.' Among his most
famous writings are 'The Myth of Progressive National Bourgeoisie', 'The
peasant movement after the Imperialist solution of the agrarian question
in Iran', 'The prospect of destitution and the Marxist theory of
crises', 'Democracy: interpretations and realities', 'Nationalism and
the
Kurdish question', 'Our differences', 'Hejab-gate', 'The gory dawn of
the
new world order' and 'The world after 11 September'.
He went back to Europe in 1984, still leading
the party. Despite his
struggles to move the party forward and make it a strong front in
representing the Iranian working class and revolutionary movement, the
party
proved unable to fulfil Hekmat's expectations. The nationalist faction
inside the party which had kept quiet for many years found a good
opportunity to make its voice heard in 1991 after the Gulf war, when the
Iraqi Kurdish parties managed to take control in some parts of Iraqi
Kurdistan. A heated debate started and articles were written to take forth
the debate. Hekmat wrote 'Only two steps back', discussing the nature
of
Kurdish nationalism and the way it was a serious obstacle in the path
towards a worker-communist movement.
Finally in 1991 he left the CPI and founded
a new party called the
Worker-communist Party of Iran. The majority of members and cadres of
his
old party followed in his footsteps and joined his new party. This was
the most daring decision one could make, considering the period in
which this took place. It was when the so-called new world order was taking
the world by storm and celebrating the collapse of 'communism'. These
were hard times to be a communist and to defend Marxism, times in which
most traditional left movements were finding ways to get rid of their
Marxist backgrounds and adding democratic suffixes to their names. But
Hekmat was far-sighted and knew the anti-communist celebration and
parades would not take long. He strongly believed that while there is
a
class society, there would always be class struggle and Marxism would
always be a way forward for humankind. 'They say socialism has been defeated
so that they may defeat it; that communism has ended, so that they may
end it. These are the bourgeoisie's war cries and bluster; the cruder
their sound, the more they confirm communism's validity as a potential
working class threat to bourgeois society' (Marxism and the World Today,
February 1992). Although the Eastern bloc had nothing to do with
communism and according to Mansoor Hekmat was only state capitalism, yet
its
defeat directly affected the communist movement in the world. Hekmat's
newly formed party was only at the beginning of a long difficult path.
It was his passionate belief in Marxism as the only way for the
emancipation of humankind, his understanding of world politics and his
accurate judgement that kept the party straight and strong during those
years
and brought it out stronger and healthier than ever.
In 1993, the International Campaign for the
Defence of Women's Rights
in Iran (ICDWRI) was founded by a number of party activists. This
organisation aimed to raise awareness about women and mobilise international
solidarity in order to fight against sexual apartheid in Iran. This
campaign was based in Sweden and although it was an organisation
specifically to defend women's rights in Iran, it soon got involved in
activities regarding the situation of women in so-called Islamic communities
living in European countries. Honour killings, the Islamic veiling of
young children, the degrading conditions of women in Islamist communities
and most of all the inhumane and racist theory of cultural relativism,
according to which all these discriminatory practices were legitimised,
were criticised and attacked by the Marxist organisers of this
campaign.
In 1995 Asrin Mohammadi a member of the ICDWRI
who managed to launch a
successful campaign against honour killings and Islamic veiling and
started a hot debate on these topics, told Medusa about the warm and
encouraging support she had received by Mansoor Hekmat, the party leader.
'In this campaign many people have supported me, but Mansoor Hekmat's
warm, encouraging letter was most valuable to me.'
In 1994 Mansoor Hekmat wrote 'A Better World',
the programme of the
Worker-communist Party of Iran (WPI), which was approved by the WPI's
First Congress. In this programme, Hekmat emphasises the equality between
women and men. 'Communist equality is a concept much wider than mere
equality before the law. Communist equality is the real equality of all
people in the economic, social and political domains. Equality not only
in political rights but also in the enjoyment of material resources and
the products of humanity's collective effort; equality in social status
and economic relations, equality not only before the law, but also in
the relations of people with each other' (A Better World, p. 36).
Mansoor Hekmat's writings have tackled the
question of inequality and
advocated women's liberation as the barometer of the real emancipation
of human beings. He has criticised Iranian culture and patriarchal
traditions in 'The Satellites and Plastic Al Ahmads'. In this piece of
exceptionally brilliant writing he criticises Iranian literature as 'patriarchal,
nationalist, Islam-stricken, anti-civilization, nostalgic, lamenting,
anti- science, clerical and old fashioned'… 'In this literature,
if they are generous enough to praise a woman, she is an old dear granny
who sets the table and cooks traditional dishes' (The Satellites and Plastic
Al Ahmads, 1997).
Over the years Hekmat managed to change the
political environment and
the attitudes of the Iranian opposition in exile and inside Iran towards
women and their role in society. He is the first Iranian politician who
used the term unconditional equality of women and men. In the WPI, for
the first time, women found themselves equal to others, with no
privileges or disadvantages as it was put by Mina Ahadi, member of the
Political Bureau and co-ordinator of the International Committee against
Stoning. 'In the Worker-communist Party, I have never felt being a woman
might deprive me from anything or privilege me in anyway. This is the
great thing that makes me love this party (Mina Ahadi, in an interview
with
Medusa, 2001).
In his work called 'Islam, children's rights
and the Hejab-gate of
Rah-e-Kargar', Hekmat criticised the Islamic veil and defended the
prohibition of veiling of children under the legal age. According to him,
children have no religion, or prejudices and they have not chosen to be
born into a particular family with specific beliefs and ideas. It is the
society's duty to protect children and provide fair and equal life
conditions for them. 'No nine year old girl chooses to be married, sexually
mutilated, serve as housemaid and cook for the male members of the
family and be deprived of exercise, education and play. The child grows
up
in the family and in society according to established customs,
traditions and regulations and automatically learns to accept these ideas
and
customs as the norms of life. To speak of the choice of the Islamic veil
by the child herself is a ridiculous joke.' This vivacity, ingenuity
and originality are characteristic of Mansoor Hekmat's writings and
thinking. Behind those few touching words, one can easily recognise the
great heart of a human being who feels, understands and sees the pain
caused by reactionary, primitive and discriminatory laws and traditions
and
see his determination to end it, dismissing the attempts of those who
try to find a progressive side to religion and compromise with it.
Alongside what he wrote, it was what he did
and what he encouraged
others to do that made him a great leader. He did not need to be in
authoritative positions or have titles to be able to lead the party. It
was
his sharp analyses, accurate predictions, the originality of his ideas,
his passionate hopes, his patience and his kind and cheerful character
that made people trust and follow him wholeheartedly. Even at times when
he had no official leadership position in the party, he was considered
its leader and the party would always unite around his words.
Mansoor Hekmat was a brilliant, witty father.
He involved himself in
every aspect of his children's upbringing. According to his partner Azar
Majedi, 'he deeply believed both parents should be equally involved in
bringing up children and if someone tried to say that he was a father
and not capable of looking after children the way a mother could, he
would be offended' (A beautiful life, interview with Radio International,
shortly after Mansoor Hekmat's death).
As a friend, he was reliable and helpful.
Despite his busy life, he
would find time to listen to his friends, to help them with moving house
and changing decorations or even solving financial crises.
After a yearlong battle with cancer, this
remarkable man died on 4 July
2002 at the age of 51, among his family. He was at the height of his
creativity and his accomplishments when his illness started. His three
last eminent works, 'Is Communism possible in Iran?', 'Re-reading of
Marx's Capital' and 'The World after September 11' demonstrates the highly
rich and incomparable analyses of world politics and regional strategic
leadership. In his wonderful short life, he has done a tremendous
amount of work. He has influenced his society and his surroundings. He
has
managed to create a human-based Marxist movement that is unprecedented
in the history of Iran and to some extent, the history of the world. He
brought Marx back to society and kept the hope of a better life alive
during the darkest times in history. As Hamid Taghvaie wrote, 'The
impact of the immense legacy that he has left for us will not remain
confined to our time or our generation. As long as there is injustice,
inequality, poverty and exploitation in the world, Mansoor Hekmat and
the
Worker-communist movement, whose banner he raised, will live on' (A Short
Biography).
As far as the women's movement and the struggle
for equality is
concerned, Mansoor Hekmat was and will be one of the greatest Marxist
thinkers who influenced this movement immensely. In Iran, he changed the
old
fashioned, backward thinking and patriarchal traditions of women's role
in
society. Mansoor Hekmat's work has not only brought out the humanitarian
side of Marxism, but it has developed and expanded Marxism in many ways.
On the question of women and inequality, Mansoor Hekmat has gone further
than both Marx and Lenin. Unlike traditional left thinking, Hekmat never
pushed women's issues aside to wait for socialism to be solved.
In his view, women could gain much more even in the capitalist system
and he tried to encourage his followers to be maximalist in that respect
and fight for complete equality between the sexes. He encouraged, directed
and helped establish some very successful and egalitarian women's organisations,
including the International Campaign for Women's Rights in Iran, the International
Committee Against Stoning, the Middle Eastern Centre for Women's Rights
and the Centre of Women and Socialism, which publishes Medusa and has
so far highlighted a huge number of issues relating to the women question.
It is his words that will lead our movement
towards gaining complete
equality and emancipation. 'Declaration of complete and absolute equality
between the sexes is what we will do the moment we seize power. We
will stand for equality at work and in the family, for equal opportunity
in political and social life. We will abolish all discriminatory laws
and change the culture. Women don't have to be victims of a backward,
reactionary and discriminatory culture if their rights are protected by
law'.
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