From A World to Win News Service:

Berlin: Rousing Internationalist Concert for Iranian Women Follows March of 10,000 on International Women's Day—Revolution and the New Communism in the House!

April 8, 2019 | revcom.us

 

A rousing internationalist concert in solidarity with the struggle of Iranian women against the enforced wearing of the hijab (Islamic head scarf) was held in Berlin on March 9, organized by the Revolutionary Communist Manifesto Group and Osyan, an underground women’s collective in Iran. On the previous day, International Women’s Day, recently declared a public holiday in Berlin, the organizers led a very multinational and multilingual revolutionary contingent taking part in a fresh development, given past local International Women’s Day (IWD) events, an impassioned march by some 10,000 women and men in the context of rising fascism in the country. Today’s ideological, legal and physical offensives against women and immigrants are two prongs of a drive to make the country more “German” by forcing “our” women back into their traditional role as “homemakers” and baby producers, and getting rid of those defined as “foreigners.”

The contingent’s three main banners, “We Support the Revolt of Iranian Women Against Forced Hijab,” “Down with Imperialism, Down with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Fight for a New Socialist Republic in Iran” signed by the Communist Party of Iran Marxist-Leninist-Maoist, and “Humanity Needs Revolution and the New Synthesis” (with an image of Bob Avakian), along with sound truck agitation, sparked controversy, interest and discussions among the broader march participants, predominantly secondary school and university students and young health workers and other professionals, many of whom were new to the streets. In the weeks before, the organizers had gone to refugee centers, feminist meetings and other venues to bring out the new communism.

The concert featured Shakib Mosadeg, the lead singer in a popular rock band in Afghanistan who was stopped in the middle of a concert and forced to flee into exile in 2010. Since then, his YouTube videos and live concerts in Europe have made him a favorite among young Farsi speakers and others in Iran, Afghanistan and other countries. In addition to reprising traditional international revolutionary anthems like “Bella Ciao,” now enjoying a resurgence among rebel youth in Europe, his own songs, from a broadly humanist perspective, take aim at imperialist war and all forms of injustice and oppression, such as the destruction of his country by the Western powers (including Germany), the torment of the millions of refugees forced to flee their homelands, and the oppression of women everywhere. The concert also included several sets by locally based revolutionary musicians, a speech about revolutionary culture and excerpts from the film of the cultural event that marked the launching of Avakian’s book BAsics. Book tables presented BA’s The New Communism in Turkish, Farsi, English and Spanish.

 

On March 17, 2017, A World to Win News Service (AWTWNS) announced its transformation into a more thorough-going tool for revolution based on Bob Avakian’s new synthesis of communism. Read its “Editorial: Introducing a transformed AWTWNS” here.

Berlin, March 8, 2019, a very multinational and multilingual revolutionary contingent took part in an impassioned march by some 10,000 women and men who turned out to celebrate International Women's Day in the context of rising fascism in Germany.