By: M.Sarjov
Cultural liberty is about allowing people the freedom to choose their identities, and to lead the lives they value, without being excluded from education, health and job opportunities. Cultural liberty is central to the capacity of people to live as they would like.
There are many forms of social exclusion; the Iranian deny recognition and accommodation of lifestyle that Baloch and other non Persian would choose to have and insist that Baloch and other non-Persians must live exactly like all others Persians.
Other forms of exclusion is participation exclusion, Baloch are discriminated against and suffer disadvantage in social, political and economic opportunities because of their cultural identity. Both types of exclusions exist on an extensive scale across every Iranian institution and constitution at every level of government department.
Cultural exclusion comes from a lack of respect for the cultures and the heritage of people, Baloch culture is considered inferior or uncivilized. These policies are reflected in Iranian state policies, Iranian calendars do not observe minority religious holidays and so forth.
Cultural liberty needs to be fostered exactly as health education and gender equity, cultural liberty will not just happen, because state treats all citizens equal. To expand cultural freedom requires explicit policies to address denials of cultural liberty. To do this, Iranians need to recognize cultural differences in their constitutions, their law and institutions.
Language exclusion
Balochi language schools do not exist; publishing in Balochi is prohibited and Baloch are pressurised to adopt Persian names. Language denial reinforces exclusion from other opportunities because Iran does not recognize Baloch language in schools, law courts and other official arenas. This is why the Baloch are fighting so hard for their languages to be recognized and used in school, politic and legal processes.
Iran has tried to suppress non Persian's languages, labelling their language inferior. Monolingual policies are most frequent source of widespread exclusion in even well established democracies. The choice of official language in schools, the language of parliament, the language of official media and commerce shapes barriers and advantages individual face in life. Recognizing a language means more than use of that language. It symbolizes respect for people who speak it, their cultural and their full inclusion.
The Iranian elite should be in no illusion that identity politics is isolated
Will the Iran recognize and accommodate diverse ethnicities religions, language and values, which are an inescapable feature of politics in the 21thst century. Modernity and enlightened political leaders and most political theorist of all persuasions have argued against explicit recognition of cultural identities, ethnic, religion, linguistic, racial. Pursue of one state one language and superior religion, in Iran has been that cultural identities of Great majority have been suppressed brutally, as the state policy, through religion persecutions and ethnic cleansing, also through everyday exclusion and political and economic, and social and political discrimination.
In different ways and different context people are mobilizing a along ethnic, religious, racial and cultural lines, that their identities be acknowledged, appreciated and accommodated by wide society. They also demand social justice. It is new today that rise of identity politics.
The Iranian elite should be in no illusion that identity politics is isolated. Identities politics are part of a historic process of social changes, struggle for freedom, the advance of human freedoms and democracy. They shape around world by the spread of democracy and advance globalization that is creating new networks and alliances.
People want the freedom to practice their religion openly, to speak their language, to celebrate their ethnic or religion without fear of punishment or losing opportunity. People must be free to participate in society without having to lose balance of their chosen culture anchor. Cultural liberty is an important part of human development because one chooses one's identity without losing the respect of others.
Iran is facing an urgent challenge to these demands. If these challenges handled well, recognition of identities will bring greater diversity in society, enriching Iranian lives. Struggle over identities if unmanaged, can become one of the greatest sources of instability, if is, not source of instability in Iran. Identity politic will polarize Iranian ethnic and religion groups create faulty line between them. Distrust and hatred will grow between 'us' and 'them'. Just last year's religion and ethnic violence between ethnic Baloch and Iranian security forces destroyed many lives on both side of that old conflict. Baloch's language, culture, religion, and economic is different from the rest of Iran population.
No country is entirely homogeneous. Cultural, language, religion diversity will stay and grow. Iran needs to find ways to cope with this phenomenon. The world interdependent economically, cannot function unless people respect diversity and build unity through common bonds of humanity. The demands for cultural, religion, language recognition no longer are ignored by any state or by international community.
Confrontation over cultural and identity likely to grow, unless Iranian elite suspend inherent right of Persian culture, language, religion on the non Persian population, and accommodate other ethnics growing demands for their inclusion in society, respect their ethnicity, religion, and language these demands takes more than democracy. Iranian elite needed to promote multicultural, multilingual, policies, champion diversity and promote cultural freedoms so all people can choose to speak their language practice their religion and participate in shaping their culture so that all people can choose who they are. |
