Quebec feminists will not comment on the struggle that Iranian women have waged for several weeks for the recognition of their rights, because they “do not know the struggle well and do not master it well,” feminist activist Kim Levesque-Lisott said.
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• Read also: Celebrities cut a lock of their hair in solidarity with Iranian women
The comedian and co-author of “Before the Breakup” posted a series of “stories” on Instagram last Monday in which she stated that the media seemed to be feeding on the topic of “Why not support Western/Quebec-Iranian feminists”.
For Kim Lévesque-Lizotte, “It’s kind of an experience of intentions that come out of nowhere.”
She explained, “As a feminist, I mainly talk about issues that matter to me, that matter to society, that I feel I control or over injustice.”
“To mobilize, organize and educate oneself, it takes time, there are activists on the ground, there have been demonstrations,” the comedian recalls, adding that these women are not heard, because they do not have a platform.
“What brings us all together as women, whether they are Quebecers, Iranians, left or right, is our inability to face what is happening at the moment and that largely explains the silence,” said Ms. Levesque-Lesotte.
“The beautiful thing is to see these women control their own destiny, to rebel. That means we talk less because injustice can no longer be condemned because they cared about it. It happens that we disagree, and privileged white women are often criticized for taking over fights that don’t belong to us,” she said. .
Without naming it, Kim Levsk-Lizot owes here the syndrome of the white savior, and the truth, as Westerners, of the desire to help racist and oppressed people to present themselves. This neo-colonial concept is often denounced in militant circles, as it does not take into account the real facts and needs of the oppressed people.
Thus, the popular trend of cutting a lock of hair, in support of Iranian women, is controversial.
According to her, what we should remember is that it is the choice of some Iranian women to burn their headscarves because it may be the choice of some women who want to wear it.
“They made their own decisions,” she concluded.
