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A glimpse at the life of Maryam Rajavi |
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Monday, 15 November 2004 |
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Rajavi subsequently resigned from her other positions to focus on her new responsibility as the President-elect.
In this capacity, Rajavi directed the Resistance's campaign on the
international scene, leading a worldwide effort to expose human rights
violations in Iran, Tehran's export of terrorism and fundamentalism and
its bid to acquire nuclear weapons. She also worked to inform the world
community about the objectives of the Iranian Resistance on a variety
of issues.
As a Muslim woman, Rajavi presented a formidable political, social,
cultural and ideological challenge in her new position as the
President-elect to the misogynist mullahs who invoked God to justify
their actions. In Maryam Rajavi, the fundamentalist mullahs saw a
leader who represented everything they held in contempt.
Propelling women forward
Under Rajavi's guidance, women assumed the most senior positions of
responsibility in political, international and military arenas within
the ranks of the Resistance. Women make up half the members of the
NCRI. A third of the Resistance's military arm, the National Liberation
Army of Iran, and two-thirds of its commanders are women. The PMOI's
Leadership Council is comprised entirely of women.
Rajavi's election gave Iran's oppressed society, especially women, new
hopes for a better future. Equally profound and inspiring was the
impact of her election on Iranians living abroad. Iranians across the
political spectrum rallied to her support and she became a true symbol
of national unity against the religious tyranny in Iran. Many
delegations from the four-million-strong Iranian exile community, among
them Iranian professionals, academics and artists, came to meet her.
Rajavi has given extensive lectures on the modern, democratic version
of Islam versus the reactionary, fundamentalist interpretation of the
religion. For her, the most prominent distinction between these two
diametrically opposed viewpoints is the issue of women.
She also paid special attention to Iran's rich, but endangered,
artistic and cultural heritage. Many famous performers, filmmakers,
artists, painters, sculptors, poets and writers expressed their support
for her platform for a free and secular Iran.
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Biography 
