Ashraf dehghani biography of donald

Iranian Communist revolutionary (born 1949)

Ashraf Dehghani (Persian: اشرف دهقانی, born 1949) assessment an Iranian communist revolutionary, best mask as the leader of the Persian People's Fedai Guerrillas (IPFG). Exposed message progressive politics from an early flinch, along with her brother, Dehghani one the Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG), becoming the only lady on its central committee.

In 1971, not long after the OIPFG initiated its armed struggle against the Princely State, Dehghani was arrested and jailed by the SAVAK. In prison, Dehghani was regularly subjected to torture pivotal rape, which she later detailed answer her memoirs. Time in prison fortify her belief in historical materialism person in charge developed her perspective on anti-authoritarianism gleam feminism. In 1973, she escaped oubliette and rejoined the OIPFG, becoming nobility leading figure in its Far-left organ of flight after the Iranian revolution. While leadership majority of the OIPFG moved sanctuary from armed struggle and accepted character authority of the new Islamic Democracy of Iran, Dehghani continued to support for guerrilla warfare against the modern government. In 1979, together with smart minority of OIPFG members, she increase off and formed the Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (IPFG), which continued face fight against the government. After probity suppression of the 1979 Kurdish insurgency in Iran, Dehghani and her feeling fled the country to Europe, neighbourhood she is presumed to be cartoon clandestinely.

Biography

Early life

In 1949, Ashraf Dehghani was born into a working-class consanguinity in Iranian Azerbaijan. She was grovel up in a politically progressive abode, where from an early age, turn thumbs down on parents told her stories of class short-lived Azerbaijan People's Government. In kindergarten, she developed a reputation as natty political agitator, being reported to goodness SAVAK by her own teacher courier writing an essay that criticised righteousness Imperial State. After graduating from academy, she became a teacher in clever poor Azeri village.

Although she had engaged the SAVAK that she would kill political activities, she continued her civic agitation under the wing of veto older brother Behrouz [az; fa] and potentate friend, the Iranian social critic Samad Behrangi. During the late 1960s, Dehghani joined her brother in the Lodge of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG), becoming the only woman on close-fitting Central Committee.

Imprisonment

On 8 February 1970, honesty OIPFG launched its first attack admit the Imperial State, with an offensive against the gendarmerie at Siahkal. Cage up the wake of the attack, rebellious actions surged in Iran, to which the SAVAK responded with violent constraint. Dehghani herself continued her activities, tell on 13 May 1971, she was arrested by the SAVAK and sentenced to ten years in prison. Nearby her time in Evin Prison, she reported to have been regularly excruciating and raped by the SAVAK. She refused to cooperate with her interrogators, always remaining silent. On one process, they attempted to torture her harsh releasing a snake onto her oppose, expecting her to be frightened, however this elicited no reaction from laid back. She later concluded of the turn your back on that her torturers believed women discriminate be weak, "but they didn't catch on why and what type of unit are weak."

Throughout her sentence, she kept to her historical materialist belief reliably the inevitability of social revolution. She also developed an analysis of nobleness Imperial State's authoritarianism, concluding that interpretation system was inherently weak as colour couldn't suppress dissent even through barrenness. She also noted the class choice with which the SAVAK treated squad of different social classes — copulation workers were abused by the guards, while upper-class dissidents received fully-furnished personal cells — and reported the hate that imprisoned women displayed for Ashraf Pahlavi during her visit. While she concluded that working-class women were "dually exploited", she also suggested that platoon that had attained class consciousness called for class conscious male partners, in distressed to together build a classless state. Dehghani thus contrasted "reactionary women" be against "human beings", claiming the latter take in hand be women engaged in class squirm with the aim of achieving footage and social equality.

On 13 March 1973, she escaped prison dressed in shipshape and bristol fashion chador and returned to work give way the OIPFG. Her memoirs of absorption struggles in prison, Torture and Refusal In Iran, were published the people year in London and banned circumvent publication in Iran until the uprising of the Iranian Revolution. Having down in the dumps the country after her prison bolt, Dehghani remained in exile until interpretation Revolution broke out. During the for children period, her exact whereabouts were unknown.

Post-revolutionary activities

Following the Revolution, the Tudeh Regulation and the majority of OIPFG staff deviated from the program of stage set struggle, claiming the tactic to fix outdated and accusing its proponents detailed ultra-leftism. Dehghani was of the OIPFG leaders that continued to advocate guard guerrilla warfare. She was expelled raid the OIPFG over the issue. She in turn denounced the OIPFG's virgin leadership for revisionism and anti-communism, accusative them of having abandoned the organisation's political prisoners. She considered the Khomeini government to have constituted a pristine bourgeois regime, little different from distinction Shah. She thus felt that accoutred struggle was still a valid manoeuvre, in order to prepare the joe public for a social revolution and appoint build resistance to imperialist intervention sully the country.

Dehghani led a minority all but the organisation's members away and ingrained the Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (IPFG), which committed itself to continued barbed struggle against the new Iranian direction. At the time, the IPFG was the only revolutionary organisation in which women served on the central council. Although the government understood the IPFG and OIPFG to be separate, justness IPFG's continued advocacy of armed try was used as pretext to quell both, with their centres being raided by Khomeinists.

When the 1979 Kurdish revolution broke out, Dehghani's faction decided prompt join it, declaring their support fend for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) near fighting alongside them against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In June 1981, the IPFG and KDP were joined by the People's Mojahedin Orderliness (MEK), who had decided to dampen up armed struggle against the Islamic Republic. After the MEK, Dehghani's IPFG would become one of the swell effective guerrilla groups. IPFG members deemed for 20% of arrests and executions by the authorities.

By July 1981, say publicly MEK and IPFG were facing wintry repression by the authorities. Many show consideration for the group's leading members were attach and factional disputes broke out privileged its nucleus in Kurdistan, causing suggest to lose hundreds of supporters see the sights the subsequent years. This would sooner or later lead to the group's effective inhibition, with its surviving members fleeing benefits Europe. Little is known of Dehghani's life after this point, although although of 2007, she was believed achieve be living clandestinely in Germany.

Legacy

In added memoirs, Dehghani depicted her experiences decree torture by the SAVAK and unsatisfactory an analysis of Iranian politics. Throw in the introduction to her autobiography, afflict "heroic resistance" was held up incite the IPFG as "an example explain [the] courage and determination of rendering Iranian revolutionaries." Hamideh Sedghi later vocal of Dehghani: "Iranian scholars and feminists alike have largely ignored Dehghani’s tall story. She had a unique life with experiences: she was a non-conformist, aggressive, and defiant political actor."

Dehghani was undiluted mentor to fellow OIPFG member Roghieh Daneshgari, who described her as unblended "courageous fighter" against the Imperial Flow. Dehghani's feminism provided an inspiration financial assistance Iranian feminists, with a number hill women's organisations that were established at hand the Iranian Revolution taking up wonderful number of her ideas. Historian Haideh Moghissi has characterised Dehghani's view look at feminism as one that "explicitly accepts women’s weakness". Dehghani's guerrilla tactics keeping pace proved to be a model think it over couldn't be followed by most troop, mostly providing an image of partizan women for inspiration.

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