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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday October 25, 2008 - 3 Woman tortured in Iran to speak at ATHENA Penning story helps cope with trauma By Hiba Kesebi SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER "That's because torture is a way to destroy people and that was what they were aiming to do in Evin prison -- to destroy people." Marina Nemat, author t 16 years of age, Marina Nemat came to face the destiny that she had long anticipated -- she was sent to jail for writing in her school's newspaper. Nemat, a Christian Iranian, had always been outspoken, but when the Iranian Islamic Revolution occurred in 1979, she had a lot to say. "The revolution changed everything," she said. "It replaced teachers who had experience, who had university degrees, with 18 and 19 year-olds, young revolutionary guards. This was a step to brainwash the young generation." Nemat, guest speaker next week at the ATHENA Oakville Gala, described how the Islamic Revolution transformed Iran from a monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeini's regime forced Iranians to abide by strict Shia Islamic laws and anyone who spoke against the government was punished severely. Although the government's laws have relaxed since, Shia Islamic laws continue to prevail. In Iran, Nemat spoke against sitting through six to seven hours of government propaganda a day by writing articles for her school's newspaper. Her principal, 18, did not like her behaviour and informed the revolutionary guards. "I knew quite well I was going to get arrested (for writing the articles). I wasn't the first one arrested from my school. A few other friends had been arrested before." Nemat's belief became reality on Jan. 15, 1982. She was arrested by two revolutionary guards and sent to Tehran's notorious Evin prison -- the same prison where Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested, tortured and killed in 2007 for taking photographs of students protesting outside the building. Evin prison, built in the early 1970s during the time of the Shah, was designed to accommodate 320 A SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER SHARING HER LIFE EXPERIENCES: Marina Nemat knows what it is like to experience real terror. The Christian Iranian will be sharing her life story at this Wednesday's ATHENA Oakville Gala dinner. inmates, though Nemat is confident that thousands of prisoners were in jail with her. "They arrested so many people that they just didn't know what to do with them. If you gave them the slightest reason to kill you, they would do that without any hesitation." Nemat noted that around 90 per cent of those arrested were under 18, and with the exception of a few, all were tortured. "That's because torture is a way to destroy people and that was what they were aiming to do in Evin prison -- to destroy people," said Nemat. Nemat was sentenced to death but, for reasons that still puzzle her, one of her interrogators fell in love with her and reduced her sentence to life in prison. He then approached her asking for marriage. "He told me that, `Well, you are a prisoner with a life sentence and. basically. the world has forgotten about you, nobody cares about you. You are going to become my wife or I will arrest your parents and they will be gone for life.'" Thus, 17-year-old Nemat married her interrogator and was raped over and over again in the name of marriage. "He took me on short leaves of absence of two to three hours every once in a while to see his family," she said. When Nemat first met her husband's family, she was shocked. "They were very normal, regular, kind, generous people. They were always very respectful to me. Whenever I was taken to their place, they would feed me and make sure I was okay and give me clothes." Their marriage was short lived because 15 months later, Nemat's husband was assassinated. Later, his family intervened in her case and bribed her way out of prison. "After two years, two months and 12 days, I was released from prison and I went home," she said. Upon release, Nemat married her boyfriend of six years and left Iran. Today, Nemat is living in Canada with her husband, and two children, aged 15 and 19. "For 20 years I put my trauma in a bubble. I put it on my shoulder and I walked my life, without being able to feel (much of) anything. I basically just lived," she said about her life after release. But in January 2002, she took a step forward. She began writing a memoir. Her book, Prisoner of Tehran, was published in April 2007 and is available in 23 different countries in 20 different languages. While it has not healed the trauma, it has helped her cope. Nemat will be the guest speaker at the 12th annual ATHENA Oakville Gala Dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 29. It will be held at the Oakville Conference and Banquet Centre, at 2515 Wyecroft Rd. A 6 p.m. champagne reception will be followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $85 and are available at www.athenaoakville.ca or by calling 905-467-7919. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. Today, ATHENA Oakville Award recipients have demonstrated professional excellence in all of the above and lived up to the namesake by giving time and energy to the community and helping other women attain new heights. The ATHENA Oakville awards were established 12 years ago, based on the international model that recognizes men and women who, in meeting a set of tenets, are worthy of recognition for professional excellence, service to the community and actively assisting women attain their professional goals and leadership skills. This year's ATHENA Oakville nominees include Wendy Perkins, executive director of Home Suite Hope; C.J. Martin of CJ's Café in Bronte Village; Alison Thomas who has excelled in the field of nursing and is with St. Michael's Hospital; Jane Thomas Yager who is with Wellspring Halton/Peel; and, retired teacher, poet and activist Elka Ruth Enola. CALIFORNIA & PLANTATION SHUTTERS · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices Shop at Home Service Authorized Eclipse Shutters Dealer FREE SHUTTERS ETC. 905.691.4455 · www.shuttersetc.ca