Did you hear about the Irishwoman in prison in Iran?

Homa Hoodfar, a dual Irish-Canadian citizen has been imprisoned in Iran, where she was born. Seven months ago, during a trip to Iran, Iran's Revolutionary Guards raided her accommodation, confiscated passports, and indicted her in Iran on unknown charges, said to include 'dabbling in feminism'.

Many people suspect that the charges relate to her academic work on how (she contends) the Islamic hijab is oppressive to women (Hoodfar is a Professor Emeritus in Anthropology)

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/academics-colleagues-push-for-hoodfar-s-release-from-iranian-prison-1.3061644

I heard an interview about this woman's imprisonment last week, in which a colleague of Homa Hoodfar said the Irish Government through its embassy has demonstrated a very tepid reaction to the imprisonment, hardly interacting at all with the citizen in question.

Between this case and that of Ibrahim Halawa, is the Government taking a somewhat blasé attitude to the liberty of those citizens which it deems to be 'less Irish'?

Here is an elderly citizen, who apparently has a great affinity for Ireland and its history, and it almost seems like she is seen as 'incidentally' Irish (as if such a status exists), which is strongly disputed by her colleagues in the Irish Studies Department at Concordia University.

What gives? Why is this such a non-issue in Ireland?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

I'm not 100% au fait with this lady's history with Ireland and how she came to be a citizen but I do think that the ease of which people have gained citizenship in Ireland in recent years has made us (the public) a little indifferent to the predicament of people who are seemingly Irish on paper only.

Just my theory.

Ilovemybricks

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

I'm not 100% au fait with this lady's history with Ireland and how she came to be a citizen but I do think that the ease of which people have gained citizenship in Ireland in recent years has made us (the public) a little indifferent to the predicament of people who are seemingly Irish on paper only.

Just my theory.

She's never even lived here and has no Irish ancestry. Ridiculous that she's a citizen.

It's none of our business what happens to Iranians in Iran.

EICVD

I have now anyway.....

Gatling

Sure it's a Canadian issue.



We have Irish issues to worry about

looksee

Do you get Irish citizenship through marriage? I am a Brit who married an Irishman and I was never aware that I had citizenship? Not automatically anyway. Must check it up.

Ilovemybricks

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Between this case and that of Ibrahim Halawa, is the Government taking a somewhat blasé attitude to the liberty of those citizens which it deems to be 'less Irish'?

Ibrahim Halawa has received 34 consular visits from Irish Embassy staff.

http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail2015021200048

The embassy staff in Egypt have already gone above and beyond for him.

In a bold diplomatic move, the Irish ambassador to Egypt, Isolde Moylan, flanked by a number of consular staff from the Irish Embassy in Egypt and members of the EU delegation in Cairo, are set to attend the court hearing.This unprecedented show of high-level support is believed to be a tactical, yet subtle, flexing of diplomatic muscle intended to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities to release Ibrahim.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/diplomatic-team-to-attend-jailed-teenagers-cairo-trial-30427033.html

Charlie Flanagan has already met with the family twice, requested a presidential pardon for him and has met with his Egyptian counterpart to discuss the situation. What more can the government realistically do here? Do you want them to send in the army rangers or something?

He's received unprecedented levels of help and support from the government and you claim that they're taking a blasé attitude to his case? Utterly false.

ScumLord

Thread title sounds like the start of a joke.

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Homa Hoodfar, a dual Irish-Canadian citizen has been imprisoned in Iran, where she was born. Seven months ago, during a trip to Iran, Iran's Revolutionary Guards raided her accommodation, confiscated passports, and indicted her Iran on unknown charges.#

Many people suspect that the charges relate to her academic work on how (she contends) the Islamic hijab is oppressive to women (Hoodfar is a Professor Emeritus in Anthropology)

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/academics-colleagues-push-for-hoodfar-s-release-from-iranian-prison-1.3061644

I heard an interview about this woman's imprisonment last week, in which a colleague of Homa Hoodfar said the Irish Government through its embassy has demonstrated a very tepid reaction to the imprisonment, hardly interacting at all with the citizen in question.

Between this case and that of Ibrahim Halawa, is the Government taking a somewhat blasé attitude to the liberty of those citizens which it deems to be 'less Irish'?

Here is an elderly citizen, who apparently has a great affinity for Ireland and its history, and it almost seems like she is seen as 'incidentally' Irish (as if such a status exists), which is strongly disputed by her colleagues in the Irish Studies Department at Concordia University.

What gives? Why is this such a non-issue in Ireland?

This is the worst punchline ever.

Kat1170

Pity she wasn't a ticket tout, Inda and Co. would be falling over themselves to help

Mr. FoggPatches

Poor punchline tbh.

endacl

Ilovemybricks wrote: »

She's never even lived here and has no Irish ancestry. Ridiculous that she's a citizen.

It's none of our business what happens to Iranians in Iran.

Au contraire. It's absolutely our business. Or was it none of our business what happened to Bosnians in Sarajevo?

Redhairedguy

Gatling wrote: »

We have Irish issues to worry about

Yeah! Like, who's taking the horse to France?

feargale

Ilovemybricks wrote: »

She's never even lived here and has no Irish ancestry. Ridiculous that she's a citizen.

It's none of our business what happens to Iranians in Iran.

She was granted Irish citizenship for whatever reason, good or bad. It's rather late in the day now to be playing Pontius Pilate.

ScumLord

Redhairedguy wrote: »

Yeah! Like, who's taking the horse to France?

We're not sending any more horses to France, the last one came back as a kebab.

Ilovemybricks

Ilovemybricks wrote: »

She's never even lived here and has no Irish ancestry.

I don't think drugs mule Michaela McCollum-Connolly ever lived here either.
Her family are from outside the country, too.

The Irish displomatic services have been plenty helpful to McCollum, providing legal advice, finding her a place to stay on parole and eventually helping her get out of prison and back to her home.

Ilovemybricks

feargale wrote: »

She was granted Irish citizenship for whatever reason, good or bad. It's rather late in the day now to be playing Pontius Pilate.

I'm saying it is ridiculous as it is ridiculous. We need to be much more stringent in who we hand it out to. There's nothing Irish about this person. She's never even lived here!

Ilovemybricks

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I don't think drugs mule Michaela McCollum-Connolly ever lived here either.
Her family are from outside the country, too.

The Irish displomatic services have been plenty helpful to McCollum, providing legal advice, finding her a place to stay on parole and eventually helping her get out of prison and back to her home.

McCollums family are from Monaghan and she was born on the island of Ireland. She's Irish. This Iranian Canadian is not.

endacl

Ilovemybricks wrote: »

I'm saying it is ridiculous as it is ridiculous. We need to be much more stringent in who we hand it out to. There's nothing Irish about this person. She's never even lived here!

It suits us when it suits us though. If she fit into a green jersey and could score from the halfway line, she'd be Irish enough.

Ilovemybricks

endacl wrote: »

It suits us when it suits us though. If she fit into a green jersey and could score from the halfway line, she'd be Irish enough.

Have to at least have an Irish born grandparent to play international football for Ireland. This Iranian Canadian doesn't even have that!

Ilovemybricks

Ilovemybricks wrote: »

I'm saying it is ridiculous as it is ridiculous. We need to be much more stringent in who we hand it out to. There's nothing Irish about this person. She's never even lived here!

The Irish nation is not a geographic entity. JUst look at all those Yanks who've never been outside their tri-state area, who legitimately enjoy Irish nationality.

Our genetic history is one of coming and going, and dispersing all across the world, a bit like the Jews or the Roma. Uniting us, however, are the principles we live by and the community with which we identify.

I for one couldn't be happier to have as a member of our society an Iranian-born scholar who started a family with an Irishman, and apparently has a strong interest in Irish culture and history, and whose life's work involves the promotion of women's liberty. This might not have been such a grim little island over the past 100 years, especially for women, if we had had more Homa Hoodfars.

feargale

Ilovemybricks wrote: »

I'm saying it is ridiculous as it is ridiculous. We need to be much more stringent in who we hand it out to. There's nothing Irish about this person. She's never even lived here!

And I'm saying what's done is done. I don't know why she got citizenship. Neither do you apparently. But to say, having granted her citizenship, even if it was a mistake, that we should now absolve ourselves from our obligations to a citizen is perverse, egregiously so in the cicumstances in which she finds herself.

Besides, there was a time when this country wasn't afraid to stand for human rights around the world. But too many of us have become addicted to economic advantage to the detriment of decency and have turned it into a cowardly little country.

Ilovemybricks

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

The Irish nation is not a geographic entity. JUst look at all those Yanks who've never been outside their tri-state area, who legitimately enjoy Irish nationality.

Our genetic history is one of coming and going, and dispersing all across the world, a bit like the Jews or the Roma. Uniting us, however, are the principles we live by and the community with which we identify.

I for one couldn't be happier to have as a member of our society an Iranian-born scholar who apparently has a strong interest in Irish culture and history, and whose life's work involves the promotion of women's liberty. This might not have been such a grim little island over the past 100 years, especially for women, if we had had more Homa Hoodfars.

She's never lived here and has no Irish ancestry. There's absolutely nothing Irish about her and if there's a way of rescinding her citizenship then do it.

I wouldn't give citizenship to yanks what weren't born here or born to Irish born parents either btw.

emo72

"Many people suspect that the charges relate to her academic work on how (she contends) the Islamic hijab is oppressive to women (Hoodfar is a Professor Emeritus in Anthropology)"

granted her irish links are tenuous, but leaving that aside for the moment, id have no problem supporting her given her thinking on the
hijab. that alone is worthy of support, regardless of nationality.

Zaph

Tbh this is the first I've heard about her having Irish citizenship. Any reports I read previously only ever mentioned that she was an Iranian born Canadian citizen. It seems that she's an Irish citizen through marriage, but to answer the original question, no, I didn't hear about the Irishwoman in prison in Iran because she wasn't being reported as being Irish.

Gatling

Zaph wrote: »

Tbh this is the first I've heard about her having Irish citizenship. Any reports I read previously only ever mentioned that she was an Iranian born Canadian citizen. It seems that she's an Irish citizen through marriage, but to answer the original question, no, I didn't hear about the Irishwoman in prison in Iran because she wasn't being reported as being Irish.

She was arrested with 3 passports on her apparently

Spanish Eyes

Iran is supposed to be a wonderful place to visit now, and not too much negative stuff from the UK Foreign Office either, which is my go to place for this kind of information.

Still, if one goes to Iran with the intention of denigrating the hijab, what does she expect?

The Irish links are not an issue.

When in Rome......

Ilovemybricks

Ilovemybricks wrote: »

She's never lived here and has no Irish ancestry. There's absolutely nothing Irish about her and if there's a way of rescinding her citizenship then do it.

I wouldn't give citizenship to yanks what weren't born here or born to Irish born parents either btw.

I find your repeated reliance on ancestry a little strange, since evidence of Irish lineage has never been required for acquiring citizenship.

This woman put a lot more thought into her Irish citizenship than most of us. based on the interview I heard from one of her colleagues, she probably knows a lot more about Irish culture and history than a lot of barstool bellyachers do.

feargale

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

When in Rome......

When in North Korea.......

Spanish Eyes

feargale wrote: »

When in North Korea.......

What?

Iran is a lovely welcoming country now, with great food (no drink lol, but there are ways!) and great things to see.

And in addition, the ladies only have a half scarf, their hair is shown, not like a hijab.

The thin end of the wedge is the introduction of full hijab there, but I can't see that happening.

Looks like a fab country to visit.

CrabRevolution

While I personally disagree with her imprisonment, I don't understand why you think I should feel any special affinity for the woman simply because of one of her THREE citizenships is a pretty tenuously earned Irish one.

Ilovemybricks

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I find your repeated reliance on ancestry a little strange, since evidence of Irish lineage has never been required for acquiring citizenship.

It is if you've never lived here. It's the only way it can be obtained without living here today

This woman put a lot more thought into her Irish citizenship than most of us.

She's never even lived here! She's not put any effort into it. If it can be rescinded, rescind it. She's not Irish through descent or by residency.