It is amusing and exciting to think how women are perceived as “threat” to the national safety of Iran.

We Iranians have heard this phrase multiple times. So as a result, in order to keep the country (Iran) safe and secure, for three decades a large army of men have been trying to fight women as hard as they can and the best they can. This army at times uses females who share the fear about national security with their male superiors.

This battle however is unfair because women have no idea about how they can be a threat to the national security. Besides women are human being as their male partners, so how come they are a big threat?

This unfounded argument and excuse for fighting women opens up a door for recognizing how women are stronger than they are aware of. Once you are being called a threat, then you should wonder what are your strengths and abilities. Once you are presented as worthless you should wonder about your worth that is being taken away from you. Once you are feared, you should question what kind of impact you have on others. In this path it is easier to engage in a new perception about self and others. Why can,t women be human beings they are? Why women have to be silenced at all costs?

A grizzly is considered as a threat to a society’s safety, once her existence is threatened and the surviving mechanisms kicks in. Iranian women do the same. She has one simple and single goal in life: to survive. However back to the concept of being called a threat you just wonder what Iranian women have done to deserve such an excellent complement. A good question is how come women are feared this badly?

How could women make a country unsafe? So this feeling of being threatened by those who hold on to the strings of power can only cause further problems for women. When did this unfair war get started?

In my practice of clinical counseling, numerous female clients as well as male clients all speak of the horrendous pressure on women and families back home.

One female client once asked me why “they” hate us this badly. With “they” she meant all the men and some females who are governing, ruling, judging, and ordering women to go to the hell, to the hell of abuse, violence, and control.

Another female client once told me stories about how in this constant fight about simple things such as physical appearance, women do not back off. It is obvious that women prefer to be recognized as a threat if their rights intimidates men this seriously.

Again going back to the argument about threat to the national safety we can only assume that women are powerful and capable, more than it is acknowledged in a health way. There are certainly an army of healthy minded men who accept women as equal partners. This greater army of healthy minded males do not feel threatened by women and in the contrary they see the value of collaborating with women in building healthier communities.

The hidden meaning behind all this fear is the fact that Iranian woman is strong and has power if they learn to believe themselves. All restrictions of women back home not only have not made our home country safer, but weaker in terms of human rights. This attitude is also in Taliban. The word Taliban literally means seekers, searchers, and those who are willing to know. I guess Taliban does not want to know, that is why they are contradicting themselves. We can assume that Afghan women are also being punished for the same reason as Iranian women.

There is no other way to interpret this fear and this feeling of insecurity by these men who do everything to restrict women. There is no other way to conceptualize this horrible act of crimes against women in Iran and Afghanistan.

Note: This article was originally written and published in EzineArticles May 20th,2009 by this author.