Baha'i Children in Egypt & Iran: A Comic That Depicts Their Dilemma

In an attempt to make a point, the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights has been at it again. This time by producing yet another penetrating and thought provoking comic (click on the comic to enlarge).

In their post, published today, the authors state:

Baha’is in Egypt and Iran are being denied their right to education. Why? Simply because of their faith. On the Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights, we have written about the discrimination that Egyptian Baha’is have been receiving, which right now is comparable to what Iran has been putting its Baha’i students through for decades.

Inspired by these human rights abuses we have created a comic to raise awareness on the absurdity of this crisis. Why do I call it a crisis? Because this is intellectual abuse. Baha’i youth are being victims of intellectual starvation, they are unable to acquire an education which is their given right as citizens. They are being isolated and humiliated on a daily basis. These governments, instead of protecting them, are denying them the chance to learn, which means that they are robbing them of their dreams, of having a career, a future, a life.

Don’t all children deserve an education no matter who they are? The Egyptian and Iranian authorities have no right to treat the Baha’is so differently.

This comic should make you laugh first. And then it should make you think. It’s available in four languages so far: Arabic, Farsi, French, Portuguese and English.

This comic also points to the innocence of children. Recent experience shows that classmates of persecuted children in Iran and Egypt are beginning to take notice and resent the the way their friends are being treated. At times, even siding with their cause. It also shows the obvious: that children look at life through different lenses than adults--their priorities are not always the same!