Why a Conference?
Preparing to attend another Iranian American Women’s Conference – originally titled Pathways to Success – I asked a friend if she planned to be there and her response surprised me. “ I've been to one of those,” she replied. “It was okay, but I think once is enough!”
Our discussion went on for a while. I could not fathom how an event, which I can hardly wait for its return, would fail to intrigue her. She expressed little interest in how the world perceives the Iranian woman and seemed to have attended the conference out of curiosity. “I really wanted to know what Anousheh Ansari looked like close by,” she said. And that remark alone convinced me that I was having a wrong discussion and speaking to the wrong person.
Ever since that day, each time I think about the new Iranian-American Women’s Society and the glorious future it promises, I wonder if we realize its significance. How many of us have stopped to think about how huge this is?
In a society where its own women continue to struggle for some of their rights, here comes the loud and clear voice of immigrant women from a country where their basic freedom is taken away. However, this time the voice is not pleading for attention, it is rather rising to proclaim their unbelievable accomplishments. Oh, how wonderful it feels to raise my head in pride after years of keeping a low profile!
The Iranian-American Women’s conference was not organized to show me what Ms. Ansari looked like – though in person she is lovelier than her photos. Nor is it about rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. What it does for me is providing the boost of energy that I need to succeed, restoring the pride I was about to give up, and introducing role models that I can be proud to know. In a room that is bursting with the energy of seven hundred successful women, you no longer care about looks. The event generates a power that you had no idea of its existence.
The late Iranian author, Saiidi Sirjani in his masterpiece The Image of Two Women, compares two of Iran’s master classics by the 12th century poet, Nezami Ganjavi. Leili-o-Majnoon tells the love story of a young Arab girl, who had to let go of her beloved Majnoon as she was forced to marry a rich man years her senior. This ultimately gave her life and Majnoon’s their tragic endings. However, in another epic, Nezami presents the beautiful Shireen, a free spirited young woman who goes hunting with men, enjoys riding her horse alongside the prince – not to mention daring to refuse him! In drawing such a parallel, Saidi Sirjani concludes that the new restrictions imposed on women in Iran, is an attempt to turn our Shireen into a submissive Leili. Sirjani was imprisoned and ultimately lost his life to his brave pen, but I smile at the thought that the gatherings of his country’s successful women must help to free his caged spirit. Centuries after Nezami and decades past Sirjani’s martyrdom, the daughters of Persia reclaim their good names and let the world meet hundreds of Shireens who refused to become Leilis!
My friend couldn’t be more wrong; once is never enough. To be a member of this society is an honor and a privilege, but attending the conference is a treat. It is the gift I give myself every year and each time I am impressed even more. Imagine looking in a mirror and finding a reflection of the youth you had presumed lost. Wouldn’t you want to look again?
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Zohreh Ghahremani is a writer and an artist. Her novel, Sky of Red Poppies is a 2012 One Book, One San Diego.
