Mohanty's "Feminist ..Colonial Discourse"- Neda Agha Soltan- #5

In Mohanty's article entitled "Feminist Scholarship & Colonial Discourse states:
"It is in the production of this 'third-world difference' that western feminisms appropriate and colonize the constitutive complexities which characterize the lives of women in these countries (63)."

In the case of Neda Agha Soltan’s murder her image became a symbol not just amongst the Muslim world but in the West of the anti-Iranian government movement.  This image of the victimized “third world women” is not unfamiliar to Western audiences.   There is a scarcity of diverse images of these women, so the few images that are disseminated are that much more powerful.  The decision to spotlight stories such as Neda’s from the Muslim world is a political choice.  Neda, a middle class woman, was killed on her way to a protest against the outcome of the 2009 Iranian presidential elections.  Her death was captured on video by local photographers.  For, the anti-Iranian protesters her image was a useful political tool to garner sympathy and support for their movement.  The image of a young, beautiful woman hemorrhaging is both a dramatic and tragic image.  For, the western media (CNN, MSNBC) it furthers plays into anti-Iraq news fare.  Americans have to save these people from their own government.  These people need rescuing from themselves (their own government). 

video shot of Neda bleeding 

When discussing "third world women" there is a tendency to portray them as victims or as seekers of western ways and culture.  This is a patronizing attitude that ignores the complexity of their situation and the role that many of these women have played in the cultural and political spheres of their country. Traditionally in western feminism there has been an assumption that the goals they are persuing are universally applicable.  When looking at the narratives of third world women one is struck by how complex their histories and experiences are.