Host: Mehrangiz Kar Guests: Mahvash, Aghasi, Mohammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi, Zhinus Nemat, Justice Angel Music: Gol Goldoon Man sung by Simin Ghanem Dinner Menu: Qalieh Mahi This week's host is Mehrangiz Kar, a well-known Iranian lawyer, writer, and human rights activist. While residing in Iran, she often represented women who were oppressed. Kar, who has published over 20 books in various legal fields, was arrested in 1999 after attending a conference in Berlin and sentenced to four years in prison. Her husband, Siamak Pourzand, reportedly ended his life a few years ago in protest against her arrest and the dire conditions of her life. Kar was forced to leave Iran and now lives in Washington, where I spoke with her over the phone.
About Mehrangiz Kar: Mehrangiz Kar is a well-known Iranian lawyer, writer, and human rights activist. While she lived in Iran, she often represented oppressed women. In 1999, she was arrested after attending a conference in Berlin and sentenced to four years in prison.
Kar: Welcome to the program. Can you tell me who you want to invite for dinner?
I want to invite Mahvash, who was famous as a singer known for her street-style performances. My second guest is Mr. Aghasi, another street-style singer. You remember he used to sing with a handkerchief in his hand and people loved him. I also want to invite Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi. The other guest I would like to invite is Engineer Zhinus Nemat, the first female meteorologist in Iran, and finally, Justice Angel.
From Mahvash to Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi, what a dinner it will be! I will later ask you to explain more about the guests you invited to our audience. But first, please tell me what music you want to play for these guests?
Mehrangiz Kar: I want to play the song "Gol Goldoon Man" sung by Simin Ghanem.
What is your interest in this song, Ms. Kar?
I have personal reasons. When I came abroad and after some events happened, and I realized I might not be able to return, my little daughter used to play this song for me to calm me and reduce my nervous crises. For this reason, this song has become part of my life.
You mentioned your first guest is Mahvash, who was a singer and dancer in the past, especially in cabarets. What is your interest in Mahvash that you want her to be at your dinner?
Mahvash was known for her courage and confidence, and she gained remarkable popularity among ordinary people who are not necessarily philosophers or politicians. I may not have liked her much back then, but after the events of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, I realized the degree of courage and bravery of such singers who knew the society they were performing in and were not afraid.
You mentioned that your second guest is Aghasi, who is also a singer from southern Iran. Perhaps you are interested in Aghasi because you are from the south!
Aghasi was a popular figure who brought joy to ordinary people and made their lives easier. He was someone who made people happy and did not let them fall into deep depression. Some people disapproved of his work, calling it vulgar, but I focus on figures who invited ordinary people to joy.
Your third guest is completely opposite to your first two guests, Mahvash and Aghasi. This guest is Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi.
I find it interesting that he expresses his beliefs in Friday prayers and promotes the strictest forms of enjoining good and forbidding wrong. I want to invite him to create a somewhat discordant mix at my dinner table.
Your fourth guest is Engineer Zhinus Nemat, and I think you should explain who she is to some of our audience.
Zhinus Nemat was a meteorologist and held a significant position in managing the meteorological department at Mehrabad Airport to ensure flight safety. She accepted Baha'i beliefs and was highly respected among Baha'is. After the revolution, when Baha'i gatherings were banned, she and her husband formed a gathering in a garden in Karaj, which was discovered, and they were arrested and killed without compromising their beliefs.
Your last guest is Justice Angel. Why?
Justice Angel symbolizes the execution of justice and standing against oppression. For us, her presence is always significant, representing justice with a scale in her hand. She is a symbol that we lawyers always have on our desks.
As a lawyer who fought for the rights of those whose rights were violated, what do you think the state of Justice Angel is in current Iran?
Let’s clarify her situation at the end of the dinner.
Now tell me what food you want to serve your guests, Ms. Kar?
Since I am from the south, I want to serve a southern dish called Qalieh Mahi. This dish has undergone changes due to the Iran-Iraq war. It used to be a poor man's food in Ahvaz, but after the war, it became a dish for the wealthy.
Now that your guests are enjoying your Qalieh Mahi and listening to "Gol Goldoon Man," what is happening at the dinner table? What are these diverse guests discussing?
The dinner became quite eventful. For example, I asked Mahvash how she allowed herself to enter a field where someone like Misbah Yazdi would not want women like her to appear on stage. Mahvash replied that she did not know who gave such thoughts permission to enter their lives. She said they should pray and fast and give advice if they want, but she may not want to go to heaven. She felt that her actions were not related to that ideology, and she was ostracized by her family when she started her career. However, bringing joy to people made her happy, and she wanted to continue doing it.