Commentary by Patricia T. Morris, Ph.D.

I have watched with great interest as the women of Iran assert themselves in their country’s post-election demonstrations. The mainstream media here in the U.S. focus on how President Obama, former President Bush, Facebook, and Twitter have sparked the conflict and not the many years that Iranian women have spent chipping away at the attitudes, laws, and  religious restrictions that limit their rights.

The real story is that the Iranian women’s movement has been quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, building momentum for years and was prepared for a moment such as this. Anne Applebaum’s commentary “An Overlooked Force in Iran” in The Washington Post this week very powerfully describes the important role women have played in their country’s social change movement.

Challenging government authority, or the status quo, is not easy, but very necessary, in determining the future women want for their country.  Iranian women have reclaimed their power and established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.  In the future, government authorities cannot assume that women will go along with unjust policies and actions.

I am profoundly moved by the women in Iran and the courageous stand they have taken against a government fully prepared to violently and publicly claim legitimacy and keep women in their place. I know that I can loudly protest injustice in this country without fear for my safety, but it’s not like this everywhere. Iranian women are in danger each time they demand their rights and take to the streets to let their government – and the world -know what they want.

The women’s peace movement has much to learn from the women of Iran…building a network of women willing to risk everything…telling the stories behind the stories that make it into the media…being ready for the moment when the world is watching and when real social change is imminent.

It makes me wonder…when are we going to get mad as hell and decide we can no longer live in a world without sustainable peace?