The above picture depicts an Iranian woman being stoned to death after being convicted of adultery. Sounds like something from centuries ago, right? No. This actually happened in the summer of 2008. Seriously. Naturally, I thought of this incident while reading Shahla Haeri's piece, "Obedience versus Autonomy: Women and Fundamentalism in Iran and Pakistan". Haeri discusses the relationship between the two concepts and how they fit into legal gender relations. Though "obedience is a cornerstone of the Islamic vision of a just social order", through it, a "wife cannot legally be autonomous" and therein lies the problem. Needless to say, many women's rights activists have become involved in campaigns to stop such brutal treatment against women and men. For example, Shadi Sadr has been leading a camapign in Iran since 2006 to stop stoning as a punishment.
