Neda: The power of Iranian women

Did women's rights groups open the door for protesters?

The ayatollahs' "thugs" may win in Iran, but only in the short run, said David Ignatius in The Washington Post. "But over the coming months and years, my money is on the followers of the martyred" Neda Agha Soltan. The young woman killed by a government sniper, and the protesters angered by her death "have exposed the weakness of the clerical regime in a way that Iran's foreign adversaries -- America, Israel, Saudi Arabia -- never could."

Neda Agha Soltan's death highlighted the vital role of women in the protests, said Ali Sheikholeslami and Caroline Alexander in Bloomberg. "Soltan was among countless women, of all ages and backgrounds, who have taken to the streets to demand a recount of the presidential vote they and others say was won by Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister. Mousavi made his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, a feature of his campaign and promised to give women more rights."

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