A Feminist Whistleblow on Truths, Lies, and the Cost of Denouncing a Hero.
In the spring of 2010, with the whistleblower site WikiLeaks making waves, Anna Ardin’s organization extends an invitation to Julian Assange, WikiLeaks’ spokesperson, for a seminar in Stockholm. Opting for security, Julian stays in Anna’s apartment instead of a hotel. When he departs a week later, Anna, one of two women, reports to the Police alleging molestation by Julian. As the world closely follows the US legal trial aiming to penalize Assange for leaking crucial information vital to peace and justice movements, Anna’s book, “No Heroes, No Monsters,” is set to be released. This book stands as Anna’s testimony to the legal trial that should have ensued and serves as a plea to the media to differentiate between the two narratives.
“No Heroes, No Monsters” delves into the tumultuous journey of Anna Ardin, the WikiLeaks activist who, in 2010, bravely came forward to report the molestation by Julian Assange. It serves as her testimony to a legal trial replaced by an Internet tribunal, a platform where women’s rights are often disregarded and weaponized. This tribunal perpetuates the daily cycle of vilifying a new woman as the most hated.
The book transcends mere headlines, urging readers to acknowledge the complexities within the black and white portrayal of heroes and monsters. Through the pages, Ardin navigates her personal life, the ordeal of molestation charges, the media frenzy, and the pervasive hatred stemming from accusing a prominent figure, while also addressing the unjust allegations against Chelsea Manning and WikiLeaks.
Ardin’s narrative echoes a call for justice for all victims of abuse, emphasizing the importance of holding even influential individuals accountable. It serves as a profound anthology of the feminist principles Ardin gleaned from enduring over a decade in the shadow of the “hero” myth.
“No Heroes, No Monsters” has previously seen publication in Swedish, German, and Farsi. The author’s English translation of the book is scheduled for release on April 5, 2024. Simultaneously, the play “In The Shadow of Assange: A Testimony,” co-written with Nicolas Benjamin, will also be available.
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Reviews and Reactions to the Book
“Straight to the point, without embellishment or paraphrases, No Heroes, No Monsters recounts the summer 2010 events in Stockholm involving Julian Assange. It is also a story about the rise and fall of Wikileaks, witch hunts, media frenzies, threats that affect women who tell their stories of power abuse and the complexities of being human.”
Sofia Mirjamsdotter, journalist and winner of the Swedish “big journalist award”
“Anna Ardin, like so many women who defend themselves against assaults by influential men, is turned from victim to abuser. Anna Ardin writes a plea for women’s rights and encourages them not to give up. With No Heroes, No Monsters, she gives voice not only to herself, but to all other women who are not believed.”
Joanna Piekarska, Aviva Berlin, Germany
“The whistleblower site Wikileaks reveals abuses by US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of its founders, Julian Assange, is globally celebrated. But when he visits Sweden, two women report him to the police for carnal assault. In the book No Heroes, No Monsters, Anna Ardin talks openly about how the abuse happened, how it made her feel and the frenzy that lasted for almost ten years. A hero does not violate. Popular men don’t violate. Assange is the hero and Ardin the villain, a whore who wants to destroy Wikileaks. If Assange dies, it will be her fault. A distorted image of Ardin runs amok across the world, while friends and like-minded people turn away. Even equal rights activists who are considered to have seen through the social structures are confused. Everyone wants to protect Assange. The hatred for and threats to Ardin are sometimes so strong that the police assess that Ardin needs personal protection. As a reader, it’s hard not to be engulfed, and sometimes I get downright nauseous. Eventually, the public image of Assange begins to crack, and Ardin receives support from many. No Heroes, No monsters is a story without pretentiousness. The book is well written and thought out; Ardin, neither victim nor avenger, skillfully balances integrity, insight and perspective. No Heroes, No Monsters exposes structures on several levels and opens up many important discussions.”
BTJ, Swedish Library Service
“Anna talks about the intersection of gender and politics, about heroes being unquestionable even in progressive movements, about the value of women in politics, about the value of women’s narratives and how little they seem to weigh compared to the heroes’ value. Anna honestly praises the hero but also makes him accountable. This is a responsible thing to do and it takes huge amounts of courage to tell such an honest story. For women like me, who are fighting on several fronts, every protest against harassment, assault and violation by male heroes has always been met with the statement “You are destroying the movement”. This way of dealing with the issue of carnal violence under the guise of defending the movement only distances the movement from its truth and original values. Anna shows us this very well. She shows us how the right-wing movement and the extreme right align, and empathize with the left-wing movement in silencing women who narrate. Anna confronts us to ask ourselves during and after reading the book: how much can a movement deny the truth before it leads to self-destruction?”
Katayoun Keshavarzi, Café 60 Media, translator and publisher of No Heroes, No Monsters (in Farsi)
“Ardin’s book makes the conversation about carnal violence less rabid. Anna Ardin reported Julian Assange and got the whole world’s comment fields against her. Eleven years later, she tells her side of the story, reminding us that even people with good qualities can abuse others.”
Rebecka Kärde, Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
“This is an incredibly important book. Although I do not know Anna Ardin, I am proud and impressed by her courage and strength. I love that her personal life and all of her doubts are included. Her story provides hope of a positive development of work of the police and the Swedish justice system. I hope that the book vindicates all those who were never believed, never reported or never had their case tried in court.”
Cecilia Bödker Pedersen, the Big Sister Association, Sweden
“Through her honest story, Anna Ardin helps us understand that the world is not black and white. She also shows that women, still and all too often, are not equally trusted and prioritized – regardless of which space or level of society we are talking about.”
Farida Al-Abani, Feminist Initiative, Sweden
“Anna Ardin’s book is very important because she courageously shows the gray spectrum of violence and the extent to which the invisibility of this form of violence can harm the victims and the common human values at the same time. Our MeToo movement has also experienced how a narrative violence causes great harm to women who speaks up against abuse. Since much of carnal violence is committed by men with social prestige from leading circles of the society, the victims of these criminals are once again abused – by mental manipulation saying that perpetrators can only belong to the colonial and the right-wing. The intellectual left-wing man who has access to analysis tools thus becomes so supported and powerful that even some feminist movements cannot resist.
For MeToo in Iran, Anna describes something important, that has been suppressed in Iran’s freedom movement, and this suppression continues to this day.”
#MeToo Iran
“Factual in detail and in a perfectly comprehensible manner, Ardin reports, in diary form, of the incriminating and years-long media hunt. Sadly, Ardin’s ultimate statement from 2020 is that the criminal complaint was probably important, but that it would have been better for herself if she had kept quiet – a realization she shares with many victims of abuse. A recommended reading!”
Bianca Mertin, EKZ Bibliotheksservice, Germany
“Anna Ardin has written a sincere book about life in the shadow of a hero; a report that we can place side by side with Klubben, Catch and Kill and She said in the category of reparations.”
Expressen, Sweden
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To view the original version on ABNewswire visit: Release of \”No Heroes, No Monsters: What I Learned Being the Most Hated Woman on the Internet\”
