Mass arrest of women for 'un-Islamic behavior'

SMCCDI:

Aug 24, 2005

Mass arrest or brutalizing of Iranian women have increased for the "non-observance of Islamist veil" or "un-Islamic behavior". Reports from various cities, such as, Rasht, Esfahan, Hamedan, Mashad and Shiraz are stating about the enforcement of the backwarded Islamist Sharia law and increased harassment of women.

Members of the Islamic Moral Squad and Bassij paramilitary force have been posted at important junctions, parks and public places and have arrested or fined hundreds of women. Some have been condemned to lashing.

Some of these arrests have lead to minor clashes as many Iranian men are objecting to such repressive measures or oppose them.

Clerics have increased their anti-woman speeches and are using the Fridays' collective prayers in order to mobilize their followers in what has been qualified as "making respect the values of Islam and morality".

The application of other discriminatory measures against Iranian women have increased, as well, and the Gender Apartheid policy and the Sexual Segregation have been strengthen . Such policy is based on the strict interpretation of Islamic rules which are dating from 14 centuries ago in the tribal Saudi Arabia which became the cradle of Islam.

A kind of so-called "national uniform" is under project in order to avoid the continuation of what has been qualified as 'some liberalities' by Iranian women who have been forced, since 1979, to observe the mandatory veil. Other projects are the construction of separate parks or libraries for women, an enforcement of the segregation in collective buses and taxis, as well as, to ban entrance of restaurants to singles.

Women are banned from attending soccer games, singing in solo, dancing, exercising some professional activities or making some studies. They can't become Judge as Islam consider women as inapt for making decisions, and their testimony is considered as half of a man. Their husbands, brothers or fathers can decide of their fates. Their husbands have the right to take several wives and to have the custody of children.

Women's hair is considered as a 'source of temptation' by Islamists who're believing that it issues a kind of 'magnetic wave'. Such official backwarded statement was made first by Abol-Hassan Bani-Sadr, the first Islamic president who's living in exile in our days, and by narrow minded individuals, such as, Abdol-Karim Soroosh who's now living in England. Actually, some of these controversial individuals are being praised by some foreign sources as enlighted elements because they've recently started a kind of mild critic of Islam and are echoing a small portion of what millions of Iranians are denouncing for decades.

Recently an Iranian movie showed an unveiled woman. She was able to play without veil as she had shaved her head.

The today's situation is the total contrary of what was existing before the 1979 Islamic revolution. Women were then able to exercise any kind of profession, such as, becoming Ministry of State, Ambassadress, Judge, Teacher, Doctor, Architect and even Fighter Pilot. They were able to decide for their own fate and were granted of right of vote a year earlier than Switzerland.

Such background was the main cause that Islamists were not able, till now, to transform totally Iran into a Taleban type land for Iranian women. Many clerics were looking, in 1979 and in early 80s, to ban Iranian women from schools and any type of employment but Iranian women consistently opposed these measures sometimes in detriment of their lives. Many were killed or injured by Islamists as they chanted "No Veil, No Submission!"

Eventually due to the world's accomplice silence, they had to resign to their forced fate of wearing the symbol of women's submission on their heads and to accept the discrimination. But they were at the same time able to force the regime to back off from some of its most backwarded decisions.

Many Iranian women have burned their mandatory veils in some demos in order to attract the world's attention to their case. They're believed to be the force that will bring down, a day, the Islamic regime and would impact the entire Middle-east.

Visit the "Women History and Conditions" in the "About Iran" section of the SMCCDI's website for more information on the case of Iranian women.