Charlie Hebdo and Feminism

Everyone knows Charlie Hebdo these days. The magazine was attacked by an armed group last week, who considered the magazine's cartoons to be an insult to Muslims. Shahla Shafigh, a sociologist, and Soudeh Rad, a women's rights activist, both from Paris, where Charlie Hebdo is published, are guests on our program this week. Soudeh Rad: Charlie Hebdo was one of the magazines that was published weekly and had a completely critical view of social phenomena as well as political and social issues in French society. Naturally, it also had an international perspective. Given that the women's movement in France is a vibrant movement that expresses its demands loudly, issues related to women's rights were not hidden from Charlie Hebdo's view and were addressed as well. Soudeh Rad: How did Charlie Hebdo approach its content? Did they work on news articles or did they also provide analysis? Essentially, Charlie Hebdo worked on both topics. They addressed weekly issues in the form of short or longer articles and also in the form of cartoons, and they worked on analytical topics on various occasions. For example, they produced a special issue titled 'Feminism, the Future of Humanity,' which addressed various topics, including the phenomenon of Islamic feminism. Shahla Shafigh: What important features and distinctions did Charlie Hebdo have? Shahla Shafigh: What always happens when people are killed unjustly is that myths are created. The editorial team of Charlie Hebdo was like all editorial teams of colorful magazines. It was a colorful spectrum of cartoonists and writers with their own tendencies. They belonged to the left, but some were communists, some were socialists. What is clear is that they agreed on public values. They did not tolerate any power. They had the sharpest views even towards François Hollande, the president here. They presented anything they could as satire. The second point was that they wanted to preserve their individual personalities. They were an editorial team that never claimed to be homogeneous. One of the features of this magazine was the emphasis on creative individuality. Well, today, due to the incident that happened, they have become a symbol of freedom of expression. This is natural. But they never made such a demand. They only said under pressure that we stand firm. They did not submit to this pressure. They paid a heavy price. Shahla Shafigh: I think you are the only Iranian woman who interviewed Charlie Hebdo and raised the issue of Islamic feminism in that magazine. How did Islamic feminism come to be discussed in this satirical magazine? This magazine had a very important feminist inclination. Some of the cartoons they published were opposed by some feminists because they said they had gender aspects. For example, the way they depicted women's bodies, the type of sexual jokes that existed. But the signature of the person beneath it was the issue, and they never crossed certain boundaries. That is, it was not about humiliating women or cartoons that defended prostitution or considered prostitution as work. All of this was considered a form of feminism. However, there were diverse tendencies. In any case, in the interview I had with Mr. Bia, the editor of the magazine, the issue of Islamic feminism was very interesting to them because it is a controversial topic. The term itself is problematic. It is contradictory. But the interview was much longer than this, and it was his choice, and I agreed with it. For me, that article is one that I sign and there was no problem in that regard. Soudeh Rad: What is the opinion of feminists in France about Charlie Hebdo? Naturally, feminists do not consider Charlie Hebdo to be a sexist magazine or a magazine that displays gender inequality, although they may not agree with some cartoons and some writings in particular. It should also be noted that French feminists, like many other feminists, do not necessarily agree on a specific issue. A cartoon may be considered anti-woman by a group of feminists but may be seen by others as displaying women's demands through cartooning. Soudeh Rad: What was the reaction of French feminists to the incident that happened to Charlie Hebdo? Did they show any specific reaction? The general atmosphere in France is one of shock and anger towards this violation of the right to freedom of expression that occurred. Several major French associations, following other associations and calls for gatherings in other cities, called for protests. Everyone stood together, even if it included politicians who did not necessarily work for women's rights and did not necessarily stand alongside feminists on other days, they stood together for a common goal: to express their protest and value freedom of expression. Shahla Shafigh: Is there anything else you would like to address? I just want to add that they did not have financial support and were very much alone. It can be said that contrary to this collective unity that created a kind of collective awareness, they were bastions of freedom of expression, and at that time it was not like that. The last time I was at a conference where their editor was, he said that our financial situation was very bad and it was only from subscriptions and such things. They were looking for solutions. At the same time, they had a circulation of 60,000. I want to say that there was a movement that was not a powerful movement or a government movement with strange support. It is not like that. Now this issue is reversing, and this is one of the concerns I have. I think that the rebellious spirit and the anti-power spirit of Charlie Hebdo should not be tarnished by this incident. On one hand, I am very happy that a public awareness has finally emerged, but on the other hand, it should not be reversed, and various political parties should not exploit this issue. This is what we see today. Imagine that many of those who were enemies of free thought and many of those who condemn dissenters in their own countries can come and stand in front of this demonstration. This is very strange. But politics is like that. At the same time, we regret that the most prominent journalists and good artists of France were victims. Feminists also lost some of their own allies. But I think that women's freedom will always remain one of the themes of Charlie, in whatever form it is published.