“I’m going to climb the mountain to hunt deer”. This is the first verse of a famous Persian folk song that is in fact an amorous poem sung by many singers. In the refrains of the song, the poet keeps asking where his gun is.
Gun has been an article of pride for many countrymen, particularly in tribes and clans. It has been engraved on gravestones for about 500 years. Half a millennium is enough for the motif of gun to replace blade and arrow as an archetypal symbol of masculinity and bravery.
However, when Massoumeh Ebtekar, head of Department of Environment, took a trip to Hamedan Province, hunters Ardeshir Mehrabi Akhtar and Hossein Jamshidi broke their hunting rifles in a ceremony held to welcome her. Ebtekar praised their action.
Worthy of praise they are, indeed, for they did not just break their macho toys; they also moved against a deep-rooted attitude still prevalent in many communities, which characterizes the possession of a gun with qualities of virility and authority.
