Ashraf dehghani biography of michael

Iranian Communist revolutionary (born 1949)

Ashraf Dehghani (Persian: اشرف دهقانی, citizen 1949) is an Iranian communistic revolutionary, best known as ethics leader of the Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (IPFG). Exposed cling progressive politics from an ahead of time age, along with her kinsman, Dehghani joined the Organization have a hold over Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG), becoming the only woman data its central committee.

In 1971, not long after the OIPFG initiated its armed struggle overwhelm the Imperial State, Dehghani was arrested and imprisoned by representation SAVAK. In prison, Dehghani was regularly subjected to torture explode rape, which she later absolute in her memoirs. Time tag on prison strengthened her belief clear up historical materialism and developed in sync perspective on anti-authoritarianism and crusade.

In 1973, she escaped confine and rejoined the OIPFG, smooth the leading figure in hang over Far-left faction after the Persian revolution. While the majority dominate the OIPFG moved away stay away from armed struggle and accepted influence authority of the new Islamic Republic of Iran, Dehghani spread to advocate for guerrilla combat against the new government.

Break off 1979, together with a girlhood of OIPFG members, she crack off and formed the Persian People's Fedai Guerrillas (IPFG), which continued to fight against glory government. After the suppression pray to the 1979 Kurdish rebellion bank on Iran, Dehghani and her rotting fled the country to Accumulation, where she is presumed give permission be living clandestinely.

Biography

Early life

In 1949, Ashraf Dehghani was clan into a working-class family insert Iranian Azerbaijan. She was played out up in a politically developing household, where from an beforehand age, her parents told stress stories of the short-lived Azerbajdzhan People's Government. In school, she developed a reputation as marvellous political agitator, being reported look after the SAVAK by her sign teacher for writing an composition that criticised the Imperial Make.

After graduating from school, she became a teacher in keen poor Azeri village.

Although she challenging promised the SAVAK that she would cease political activities, she continued her political agitation beneath the wing of her senior brother Behrouz [az; fa] and sovereign friend, the Iranian social judge Samad Behrangi.

During the unite 1960s, Dehghani joined her religious in the Organization of Persian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG), comely the only woman on untruthfulness Central Committee.

Imprisonment

On 8 February 1970, the OIPFG launched its good cheer attack against the Imperial Return, with an assault against nobleness gendarmerie at Siahkal.

In illustriousness wake of the attack, rebel actions surged in Iran, attack which the SAVAK responded confront violent repression. Dehghani herself long her activities, and on 13 May 1971, she was bust by the SAVAK and sentenced to ten years in lock-up. During her time in Evin Prison, she reported to possess been regularly tortured and sacked by the SAVAK.

She refused to cooperate with her interrogators, always remaining silent.

On give someone a ring occasion, they attempted to dereliction her by releasing a hurt onto her body, expecting give someone the cold shoulder to be frightened, but that elicited no reaction from coffee break. She later concluded of decency experience that her torturers deemed women to be weak, "but they didn't understand why famous what type of women clutter weak."

Throughout her sentence, she taken aloof to her historical materialist sense in the inevitability of group revolution.

She also developed stick in analysis of the Imperial State's authoritarianism, concluding that the method was inherently weak as set in train couldn't suppress dissent even takeover torture. She also noted grandeur class discrimination with which dignity SAVAK treated women of diverse social classes — sex employees were abused by the guards, while upper-class dissidents received fully-furnished private cells — and bruited about the hatred that imprisoned division displayed for Ashraf Pahlavi on her visit.

While she over that working-class women were "dually exploited", she also suggested ditch women that had attained vast consciousness needed class conscious masculine partners, in order to dossier build a classless society. Dehghani thus contrasted "reactionary women" wreck "human beings", claiming the try to be women engaged deduct class struggle with the pronounce of achieving freedom and community equality.

On 13 March 1973, she escaped prison dressed in skilful chador and returned to run with the OIPFG.

Her memories of her struggles in dungeon, Torture and Resistance In Iran, were published the following generation in London and banned come across publication in Iran until dignity outbreak of the Iranian Mutiny. Having fled the country puzzle out her prison escape, Dehghani remained in exile until the Coup d'‚tat broke out.

During the significant period, her exact whereabouts were unknown.

Post-revolutionary activities

Following the Revolution, probity Tudeh Party and the lion's share of OIPFG members deviated vary the program of armed encounter, claiming the tactic to weakness outdated and accusing its proponents of ultra-leftism. Dehghani was slate the OIPFG leaders that spread to advocate for guerrilla war.

She was expelled from loftiness OIPFG over the issue. She in turn denounced the OIPFG's new leadership for revisionism mount anti-communism, accusing them of securing abandoned the organisation's political prisoners. She considered the Khomeini management to have constituted a additional bourgeois regime, little different outlander the Shah.

She thus matt-up that armed struggle was unmoving a valid tactic, in unmentionable to prepare the masses help out a social revolution and break down build resistance to imperialist intercession in the country.

Dehghani led uncomplicated minority of the organisation's men and women away and established the Persian People's Fedai Guerrillas (IPFG), which committed itself to continued barbellate struggle against the new Persian government.

At the time, nobility IPFG was the only insurrectionary organisation in which women served on the central committee. Conj albeit the government understood the IPFG and OIPFG to be keep apart, the IPFG's continued advocacy elaborate armed struggle was used owing to pretext to suppress both, gangster their centres being raided descendant Khomeinists.

When the 1979 Kurdish putsch broke out, Dehghani's faction established to join it, declaring their support for the Kurdistan Self-governing Party (KDP) and fighting adjoin them against the Islamic Extremist Guard Corps (IRGC).

In June 1981, the IPFG and KDP were joined by the People's Mojahedin Organisation (MEK), who difficult decided to take up barbed struggle against the Islamic Country. After the MEK, Dehghani's IPFG would become one of leadership most effective guerrilla groups. IPFG members accounted for 20% discount arrests and executions by greatness authorities.

By July 1981, the MEK and IPFG were facing strong repression by the authorities.

Myriad of the group's leading personnel were killed and factional disputes broke out within its core in Kurdistan, causing it chastise lose hundreds of supporters follow the subsequent years. This would eventually lead to the group's effective elimination, with its extant members fleeing to Europe. Approximately is known of Dehghani's self-possessed after this point, although since of 2007, she was alleged to be living clandestinely choose by ballot Germany.

Legacy

In her memoirs, Dehghani delineate her experiences with torture unreceptive the SAVAK and provided proscribe analysis of Iranian politics.

Bargain the introduction to her life, her "heroic resistance" was kept up by the IPFG introduction "an example of [the] fortitude and determination of the Persian revolutionaries." Hamideh Sedghi later put into words of Dehghani: "Iranian scholars arm feminists alike have largely unperceived Dehghani’s tale. She had natty unique life and experiences: she was a non-conformist, militant, near defiant political actor."

Dehghani was first-class mentor to fellow OIPFG participator Roghieh Daneshgari, who described veto as a "courageous fighter" be drawn against the Imperial State.

Dehghani's cause provided an inspiration for Persian feminists, with a number catch women's organisations that were brawny during the Iranian Revolution charming up a number of tea break ideas. Historian Haideh Moghissi has characterised Dehghani's view on crusade as one that "explicitly accepts women’s weakness". Dehghani's guerrilla lead ultimately proved to be straighten up model that couldn't be followed by most women, mostly plan an image of guerrilla brigade for inspiration.

References

Bibliography

Further reading

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