Poems by Bänoo Zan
I Protest For Ateke Rajabi* Greetings to you Look at me carefully I am a protestor— an elementary school teacher from a village in Khorasan*— I joined nationwide protests and strikes refused to collaborate with Education Ministry as they allow revolutionary guards to enter schools threaten, arrest, jail, and kill students They have turned schools into military barracks— do not protect students’ rights— Look at me carefully I am a protestor I am not armed Look at my hands: They are empty I have neither attacked anyone nor have I damaged any property In the streets I only chanted for freedom demanded the right to express myself with no fear I only protested for freedom of speech If, on a day like tomorrow, like so many others, I am no longer among you, this video is for that day so that you know why I protested I am in complete health— have no underlying conditions I don’t love to be thrown down from heights In complete mental health I protested in the streets with empty hands— Look at me carefully I am a protestor -- *The poem is based on the contents of a video posted by Ateke Rajabi on her Instagram account on October 8, 2022, as well as some previous videos. *Khorasan: Province in Iran
Girls against Misogyny* In coded language in a sermon the Ayatollah instructed his devout thugs to punish the youth led astray by the enemy Decode: “Punish”: unleash horror, use violence— savage and unbound— Decode: “Led astray”: defying hijab decree Decode: “Enemy”: “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” “Equality,” “Women’s Rights” They got to work Decode: “They”: Muslim hardliners— Revolutionary Guards— Basij militia— Plainclothes forces— It started in Qom* and spread through the country In girls’ schools first, they smelled a decaying tangerine Then, came headaches, nausea, shortness of breath, limpness of limbs, loss of consciousness— Thousands were gassed A few died— The security ordered the media not to mention biological terror attacks— warned hospitals not to release findings Parents were beaten for demanding an investigation — Protesting students arrested— In a country quick to arrest for posting dance videos on social media and to hand out ten-year jail sentences* no one has been arrested for the attacks no findings released— no one held accountable People chant: “Our enemy is here. They lie to us when they say it’s America!”* Decode: “Our enemy”: The Islamic Republic “Here”: Iran “Our enemy” is hell-bound to teach our youth a lesson in submission— but the people will prevail and so will woman, life, and freedom -- * https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64797957 * City in Iran * https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64470506 * دشمن ما همین جاست. دروغ می گن آمریکاست.
Mr Daghigh Mr Daghigh was anything but daghigh* He wasn’t young; he wasn’t old He wasn’t thin; he wasn’t round Sometimes he would forget to pick us up after school like that time he forgot Zahra and I couldn’t stop crying until I saw her brought home on a bike by a teenager—a local clergyman’s son— who happened to be in Pir-e-Alam* and gave her a ride to our home Mr Daghigh was anything but daghigh Maybe our parents chose him because he attended the mosque and had a beard— We used to go to the Islamic school for girls far from home School buses did not exist back then— still don’t— Mr Daghigh was not daghigh at all like that time he wanted to back up his newly-bought van and asked us kids to direct him— looking out the windows— and bumped against the lamppost Mr Daghigh was not daghigh but he was fun On good days after school on the highway he would ask: Kids! Straight or zigzag? And, like a good kid, he would listen— zigzag to right and left— Sometimes the sliding door at the back would open without him noticing We didn’t mind and were happy he didn’t, either Wherever he may be now I hope he is still surrounded by fellow-kids -- *Precise * Pir-e Alam is a local Shiite shrine in Babol, Mazandaran, Iran. Literally: the Pir of Alam (war standard). Alam is one of the ritual objects used in Ashura processions, a Shiite ritual commemorating the martyrdom of the third Shiite Muslim Imam, Hussain.
About the Poet:
Bänoo Zan is a poet, librettist, translator, teacher, editor and curator with over 250 published poems and poetry-related pieces as well as three books, including Songs of Exile and Letters to My Father. She is the founder of Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night), Canada’s most diverse poetry reading and open mic series (inception: 2012), a brave space that bridges the gap between communities of poets from different ethnicities, nationalities, religions (or lack thereof), ages, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, poetic styles, voices, and visions. Bänoo is the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Alberta, Canada, Sept 2022-May 2023.
Books:
Songs of Exile, Guerncia Editions
Letters to My Father, Piquant Press
