When I think about International Women's Day, it reminds me of the suffering of millions of Iranian women like me. It makes me sad because it reminds me of how much I was disrespected and humiliated in my birth country. It reminds me how much Iranian women are insulted, disrespected, and have suffered. It reminds me of many horrible memories of being insulted and punished in school, and even at home by my brothers, who were brainwashed by the Islamic rules to see me and all women as inferior. It reminds me of the gross harassment by men who would look at me as a whore and the challenges I faced because I lived independently without being under the control of a man. It reminds me that I lived 30 years in Iran, but I never had the chance to travel and visit my beautiful country because hotels wouldn't let women book a room alone.

It reminds me of the terrible stories of my students who must accept the sick sexual advances and extortion by judges to be able to receive a divorce from their abusive husbands. I experience that, too. Under Islam, if a woman is abused or beaten by her husband, there is no law to defend them. There is a verse in the Koran (Al Nisa Surah) that actually gives permission for men to beat their wives.

Despite all these misogynistic Islamic laws, millions of Iranian women bravely fought against these harsh rules and did not submit. Many of them never gave up and tried to stand for their rights at any cost, even losing their lives.

This year alone, the........

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