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https://thecritic.co.uk/iranian-women-deserve-more-support/

The unknown fate of Daryaei, not to mention the innumerable protestors who have been blinded, beaten and killed by the Iranian regime, deserve more than a few tweets and some fleeting, quickly-forgotten articles. Yet Iranian dissidents present a problem for the mainstream left who might ordinarily jump on such an obvious cause.

Oddly, the response of the progressive mob seems to be a resigned shrug of keffiyeh-draped shoulders. There are no regular mass demonstrations through London, nor widespread solidarity campaigns on campuses. And despite the punishment of homosexuality, there are also no high profile “Queers for Iranians” groups waving placards. Support for the people of Iran remains excluded from the omnicause; oddly outside the sink hole that sucks in everything from sex workers’ rights to Gaza.

It is hard not to suspect this is because of an uncomfortable blind spot on the left. Across the West, progressives have a morbid fear of being accused of “isms” or “phobias”. And there is of course a hierarchy; racism is the worst, closely followed by Islamophobia. Transphobia trumps homophobia. And everything has more kudos than boring old sexism which, after all, only impacts those who might be useful as surrogates for gay men.

If Iran was a Christian theocracy, progressives would know who the enemy was. Yet there is a squeamishness about standing against obvious inhumanity when it comes wrapped in an amameh (Iranian clerical turban). Telling women what to wear, or blaming them when they are raped, is wrong. Unless the person doing it is a Muslim. Then one must display appropriate cultural sensitivity, decolonising one’s thoughts to avoid causing offence. Because if the great monolith of Muslims are alienated, they think, only whiteys will be left carrying Socialist Worker Party placards, and that would be a PR disaster. Such tokenism is, of course, offensive to everyone regardless of faith — not least to the Muslim women taking a stand against the brutality of the Iranian state.