November 08, 2023

The struggle for freedom in Iran: one year on

topic:	Women's rights
located:	Iran
editor:	Gloria Rosary

It has been over a year since Mahsa Amini tragically passed away following a coma she fell into while being detained by Iran's morality police on 16 September 2022. In the subsequent 14 months, significant events have unfolded. Mahsa Amini's death ignited a series of protests throughout Iran, resulting in the detention of thousands of protesters across the nation, with over 500 believed to have lost their lives, according to the United Nations, seven of whom were protesters executed after hasty trials. 

Among those injured were men and women who were intentionally targeted, resulting in the loss of sight in one or both eyes. Some have made their visual impairments public, while many have chosen to remain silent for fear of reprisals from the state, as reported by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). 

Among the detainees, journalists Elahe Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi, who initially reported on Mahsa Amini's death, have been sentenced to 13 and 12 years in prison, respectively. They were handed seven and six years for collaborating with the hostile US government, followed by five years each for acts against national security and one year each for propaganda against the system. 

Following Amini's death, the morality police faced extreme scrutiny and suspended its street patrols. In July 2023, however, the force resumed car and foot patrols across the country to deal with individuals wearing what it deemed as "unusual clothing". Further violation of human rights extended to the introduction of a controversial hijab law, which introduces a range of punitive measures for the various violations. Fines range from six to 24 million tomans ($100 to $500) for first-time offenders and 24 to 50 million tomans ($500 to $1,000) for repeat violations. Subsequent offences could carry a fine of 50 to 100 million tomans ($1,000 to $2,000). The bill empowers citizens to apprehend offenders in the absence of law enforcement personnel, as well as reporting on people not adhering to the law. 

Despite immense pressure and oppression, hundreds of thousands of Iranian women continue to defy the law by continuing to forego the hijab. They pay a significant price for their resistance, enduring not only financial penalties but also the ever-present mental distress and danger that permeates their daily lives. 

These feelings of distress were further exacerbated by the tragic death of another young girl, Armita Geravand, on 28 October 2023. She fell into a coma after collapsing, following an incident many believe was related to not wearing a headscarf in a Tehran subway car. The government's response to Ms. Geravand's case is reminiscent of Mahsa Amini's death. They arrested the journalist who reported the incident, coerced interviews with her parents to be broadcast on national television, released CCTV footage from the station with no footage showing inside the subway car, and restricted access for journalists, permitting only the state news agency to report from the hospital, raising further questions about transparency and accountability. 

It is crucial to disseminate such stories to support the Iranian people, particularly women, to overcome this ongoing torment. The internet in Iran faces strict censorship and frequent shutdowns during protests, prompting people to seek secure, fast, and inexpensive ways to access the internet to shed light on the stark realities of life in Iran and to engage in the online battle against propaganda and false, misleading information. 

Image by Saeed Karimi.

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