Women in Tehran Protest for Freedom

NetIran:

roozonline, Daily, Jun. 14th, 2005

This Sunday in Tehran's sweltering afternoon heat, a thousand women gathered to reclaim their rights for the first time after a quarter of a century. It was held in peace and with good organization. Sitting in front of Tehran University they alternately chanted: "Without women’s rights, there can be no freedom". They listened to their representatives speak and shared their complaints regarding the existing patriarchal laws.

Though the Interior Ministry had not issued a permit for the event, work-arounds had been negotiated to allow the women to assemble. The police attempted to disperse the first few women attendees but as the crowds grew it decided to allow the gathering on the condition that no political issues would be discussed.

Poet Simin Behbehani kicked off the gathering by reciting a poem to the crowd’s cheers of "anti-human rights laws must be rescinded", "victims of violence must become aware", "women's rights are human rights", and "anti-women laws are the roots of tyranny."

Issues regarding the rights of ethnic minority women in the constitution were raised by Kurdish feminist speaker Roya Talavi. But there were also several women who could not deliver the speeches they had prepared.

Mahboubeh Abasgholizadeh one of the organizers said: "Though at times the situation seemed to be getting out of hand, we managed to keep the crowds under control." A number of men were present, but the police did not allow them to join in. At the end of the hour long demonstration, Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani, another organizer, read the final communique, thanking the attendees and asked that they disperse peacefully.

On the Sidelines Groups of men and women stood across the street from the demonstrators chanting in support of the women and political freedoms. For several hours afterwards, the gathering crowds lingered in the streets Tehran.

Some men store owners complained that because a few women want to dress less modestly they create havoc in the streets and ruin business for them. However, the agenda included not the mandatory dress code but rather the observance of human rights in the constitution.