Defending the Women's Right to Love and Marry: Told by Iranian Refugee Writer

    The Iranian writer Mehryar Mehrafarin shared with us with his fascinating life story this Saturday. Being born in Iran he found a passion in writing, and in his early ages he already wrote about 25 books. However, in Iran there is a policy that you should get permission from the government first, to write, and, second, to publish and distribute books. Mehryar's writings were too controversial and in 2001 government decided to sentence him to death. Only by fortunate chance he was able to escape from the country with his son and become a refugee in the United States.

     After experiencing and observing abuse against women in Iran he became a defender of women's right. In his Union Mehrafarin book that he presented to the audience he is showing a new philosophy of love regardless religion, nationality, and political affiliation. By this book he is raising an important issue of defending humans right to choose whom to love and marry--the right that is stated in Article 16 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, as he emphasized this right is not protected in many countries. In 2011 in Pakistan 15 year old girl was killed by her parents, because she refused to marry her father's 52 year old cousin. In 2010 in India the girl was burned and cut into pieces. In 2008 in the US father killed his 22 year old daughter because she fell in love with African-American, while he wanted her to marry an Indian man.

     Mehryar is criticizing the United Nations for not protecting the human's right to love. "Why do we have war when we have the UN? Why do we have hungry people if we have so much food? Why, why and why?". Therefore, he appeals to the UN to take the book as the foundation in protecting rights of lovers, as well as he asks the UN to establish the committee of the rights of lovers which should be called the committee of Union Mehrafarin.