Zach LarkinsMISS CANADA
Who is Nazanin Afshin-Jam and why do you care? Sit back and relax, and I'll tell you the tale.
We are all familiar with various beauty contests, Miss USA, Miss World, Miss Universe, ad nauseum. The contestants show off their talents, pose in swim suits and answer the age old question of what they'd do to make the world a better place to live on. The usual answers are that they'd all want world peace and failing that, would like to land a job as a soda jerk. It's all very predictable and too boring to be of much interest anymore.
The winners get to wear their crown for a year and attend earth shattering moments like cutting the ribbon at the latest supermarket opening. The recent news about The Donald giving Miss USA another chance because she was in over her head smacks of Bill Clinton giving instructions to Monica on how to do it gently.
Nazanin has actually done something that should make a difference and should earn her The Order Of Canada. She had heard of the plight of Nazanin Fatehi, 19, who was sentenced under an archaic law to death for stabbing a man to death who was trying to rape her and her niece. Nazinin means beautiful in languages spoken in Iran, and Nazinin Afshin-Jam truly fills the bill.
A friend of hers had shown her a newspaper article about what was to happen to Nazanin Fatehi, and the coincidence in names was too much for her to ignore. Under Shariah law, Fatehi's self- defence was too extreme and the fact that she was out after dark was also counted against her. Fatehi was 17 when this happened and Afshin-Jam took up her plight as a human rights cause and shone her celebrity on what she saw as a radical interpretation of Shariah law where some believe "the life of a woman is worth half of a man."
I have been taken to task for knowing little if anything about Shariah law by a Muslim who claims women are virtually worshipped under this system of ‘justice'. It didn't take much research to find that I was right in my interpretation of it and my Muslim friend didn't know what he was talking about.
For her efforts, Afshin-Jam received threats. "One was they were going to leave me with a scar," she said. It didn't stop her though. With the help from others, she began the Free Nazanin campaign, which included a petition and fund-raising on the HelpNazanin.com website. Thousands responded. The result was a decision to spare Fatehi's life. There was however that pesky little problem of what it would cost to gain her release. The tab came in at US$43,000.
Afshin-Jam went back to the web site and asked for donations. Canadians responded and so did Iranians. What is beautiful here is that a young woman's life was saved. It shows the power of the people. It shows just what you can do when you believe in something and she is hoping the court's re-thinking of the case shows they are now willing to listen.
Afshin-Jam put her own life on the line to stick up for someone she doesn't even know. And she used her own name for another who had no voice and even less hope. Ayatollah Shahroudi, is a chief judge in Iran who called for leniency in this case. Afshin-Jam is encouraging him to take a close look at other cases since saving innocent lives is the name of the game.
Maybe world peace is out of the question for now, but this one act shows someone has their head screwed on right and is taking steps to achieve that lofty goal. It certainly beats Miss USA drinking underage in her quest for world peace.
We are all familiar with various beauty contests, Miss USA, Miss World, Miss Universe, ad nauseum. The contestants show off their talents, pose in swim suits and answer the age old question of what they'd do to make the world a better place to live on. The usual answers are that they'd all want world peace and failing that, would like to land a job as a soda jerk. It's all very predictable and too boring to be of much interest anymore.
The winners get to wear their crown for a year and attend earth shattering moments like cutting the ribbon at the latest supermarket opening. The recent news about The Donald giving Miss USA another chance because she was in over her head smacks of Bill Clinton giving instructions to Monica on how to do it gently.
A friend of hers had shown her a newspaper article about what was to happen to Nazanin Fatehi, and the coincidence in names was too much for her to ignore. Under Shariah law, Fatehi's self- defence was too extreme and the fact that she was out after dark was also counted against her. Fatehi was 17 when this happened and Afshin-Jam took up her plight as a human rights cause and shone her celebrity on what she saw as a radical interpretation of Shariah law where some believe "the life of a woman is worth half of a man."
I have been taken to task for knowing little if anything about Shariah law by a Muslim who claims women are virtually worshipped under this system of ‘justice'. It didn't take much research to find that I was right in my interpretation of it and my Muslim friend didn't know what he was talking about.
Afshin-Jam went back to the web site and asked for donations. Canadians responded and so did Iranians. What is beautiful here is that a young woman's life was saved. It shows the power of the people. It shows just what you can do when you believe in something and she is hoping the court's re-thinking of the case shows they are now willing to listen.
Afshin-Jam put her own life on the line to stick up for someone she doesn't even know. And she used her own name for another who had no voice and even less hope. Ayatollah Shahroudi, is a chief judge in Iran who called for leniency in this case. Afshin-Jam is encouraging him to take a close look at other cases since saving innocent lives is the name of the game.
Maybe world peace is out of the question for now, but this one act shows someone has their head screwed on right and is taking steps to achieve that lofty goal. It certainly beats Miss USA drinking underage in her quest for world peace.
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