"In defense of her honor."

 Writing the tragic story of Reyhaneh Jabbari was an incredible honor for me to scream loudly to the world about the horrific injustice that was done to this beautiful Iranian woman!

“I, Reyhaneh Jabbari, am 26 years old. With a hanging rope in front of my eyes, that I am not afraid of, I write to tell the tale that I lived...

I want to tell you everything that I said in court, which they did not understand, and everything that I cried out under torture, which was not heard. Everything that I screamed out while I was brutally kicked by four forceful interrogators, who regarded themselves as “Almighty.”

“Perhaps someone in this world would hear my cries and feel my pain…”

 

Reyhaneh Jabbari

(Prison letter #1)

Reyhaneh on trial, December 2008.

     In the Persian language, names have specific meanings that relate to life. The name, “Reyhaneh,” means, “flower, fragrance.” Ironically, my name, in the English language, “Randy” means, “defender.”

     I don’t believe that it’s a coincidence that I am writing this blog for Reyhaneh. I am not merely writing out of sympathy. It is much bigger than that! I believe I have the “God-ordained” task to live up to the meaning of my name. I want to be a “defender,” a defender of Reyhaneh’s honor as a woman. Reyhaneh was the helpless victim of a man’s uncontrollable sexual advances and she did what any honorable woman would do by defending herself.

     In Iran, the unfortunate reality is that women are the property of men, in a society that elevates the status of a man because of the Sharia Law. According to the Quran, Men are superior to women and the testimony of a woman is only worth half that of a man’s” (Surah 2:282, Surah 4:34)

     Reyhaneh grew up in this kind of culture and because she defended her honor against a former intelligence agent, her fate was sealed. The Iranian Regime would do everything in its power to protect the reputation of a government man, which meant that Reyhaneh had no hope of surviving, but instead would be sacrificed on the altar of convenience so that the Sarbandi name would not be tainted.

     Right before her execution, the Regime brought in cameramen and reporters to pressure Reyhaneh into changing her story.

     “Just say he did not try to rape me!”

     In the midst of great pressure to preserve her life, Reyhaneh refused to lie and compromise the truth, but instead she stood strong and tall as a majestic mountain and looked in the face of her accusers and responded, “ I will not lie!”

     The reason I chose the name, “a beautiful fragrance” as the subtitle of my book is because Reyhaneh exemplified and lived up to the meaning behind her name. She was a beautiful fragrance of honor, kindness, mercy, and courage. She forgave her interrogators shortly before her execution and showed kindness and compassion to the many women political prisoners who came from destitute and filthy walks of life.

     This blog is about a remarkable, extraordinary and inspiring woman who suffered greatly at the hands of an evil dictatorship and illuminated a dirty prison with the beautiful fragrances of her wonderful character.

     It is my honor and pleasure to be a voice for her honor!