Western leftists have a tendency to overlook the same problem that they criticize in Iran if it exists under socialist governments. Abortion is a good example. You seldom ever hear about the lack of the right to abortion in Venezuela.
Here's a summary of the condition of women's right to abortion in revolutionary Nicaragua in the Sandinista years: <blockquote>Despite symbolic pledges to gender equality, the FSLN was fast becoming restrained in its ability to enact its progressive platform. Reproductive rights and low-cost contraceptives in particular became major demands of women actively involved in the Nicaraguan women's movement. Such activism was primarily enacted through AMNLAE. In particular, despite the progressive reformist rhetoric of the FSLN on contraceptives and sex education, abortion remained an extremely controversial issue. By the end of the 1980s, maternal mortality figures showed that one third of all maternal deaths were the result of self-induced abortions (Wessel 1991). It is significant, however, to note that despite the anti-abortion stance of the FSLN, within a year of the revolution, the police stopped prosecuting women for having illegal abortions (Chavez Metoyer 2000: 28). Although the Sandinistas made it clear that they would not change the laws prohibiting all but therapeutic abortions, they were lenient in allowing therapeutic abortion services in hospitals. In 1989, elective, first-trimester abortions at a European-funded nongovernmental agency became available for a moderate fee (Wessel 1991). But because the FSLN was focused on building a new society for the collective good, individual rights – such as the feminist view of a woman's right to control her body – were never promoted, and in fact, were often seen as bourgeois and counter-revolutionary (Wessel 1991). (Emily S. Mann, "Familialism in Nicaragua: Reproductive and Sexual Policy Regimes, 1979-2002," <http://www.northwestern.edu/rc19/Mann.pdf>)</blockquote> Did Lou and others criticize _that_ during the Sandinista years in the fashion they criticize the same problem in Iran? If not, why not? In my way of thinking, a socialist government ought to be judged by the same or higher standard than one officially ruled by the clerical power elite. -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>
