Since women<\/a> are an important part of every society and play a key role in shaping it, violence against women is one of the social harms that unfortunately has many negative consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to psychologists, women who\nare subjected to violence also face difficulties in fulfilling their social and\nindividual duties and responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Iran, violence against women has\nbeen institutionalized in the law of the clergy. The ruling mullahs regard\nwomen as second-class citizens that must be locked up in houses to raise\nchildren. The mullahs consider women as sex slaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Iran, laws such as compulsory veils\nand gender separation in public places, buses and even universities and workplaces\nare some of the most egregious discriminations against women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year, thousands of Iranian women\nare assaulted on the streets and public places on the pretext of \u201cbad hijab\u201d, and\nthey\u2019re beaten, flogged and jailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Majid Abhari, a regime expert on\nviolence against women, says: \u201cViolence as one of the most unpleasant\nbehavioral responses picks out victims from all walks of life, especially women\nand children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, despite the fact that\nIran is one of the signatories of the Convention for the Protection of the Rights\nof Victims of Violence, the scope of violence against women has also extended\nto children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Violence against women in Iran is not limited to beatings, punishments, or emotional deprivation. Financial and other social limitations are other forms of violence against women. Of course, this type of violence is referred to as covert violence. Women in Iran are often subjected to these kinds of violence, including acid attacks, fires, or very violent beatings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The deeper tragedy is that many Iranian\nwomen are unable to access justice because of cultural issues or concealing\nphysical and psychological abuse, because the constitution of the mullahs\ndoesn\u2019t even respect the testimony of women. According to the laws of the\nIranian regime, the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n A look at some of the actions against\nIranian women in 2019 illustrates the 40-year situation of Iranian women<\/strong>:<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a court hearing on Saturday, September 7, 2019, Asal Mohammadi, Sanaz Allahyari and Sepideh Qolian were sentenced each to 18 years in prison, a total of 54 years. Three other activists including Amirhossein Mohammadifar, Ms. Allahyari\u2019s husband, were also sentenced to 18 years each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Assal Mohammadi<\/a>, a civil activist and student of\npharmacy, was taken to Evin Prison on August 4, 2019. She was arrested in\nDecember 2018 and released in late January on a 400-million-toman bail. Ms.\nMohammadi was arrested again in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mohammadi had written and published posts in support of the\u00a0protests\u00a0<\/em>by workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar\nCane Company and the Steel Workers of Ahvaz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanaz Allahyari, member of the editorial board of GAM internet\nmagazine, was arrested in January 2019. GAM wrote about social issues,\nincluding on the rights of workers. Ms. Allahyari was held for months in the\nIntelligence Ministry Ward 209 and transferred to the general ward in\nApril.\u00a0She suffers from various illnesses<\/a>, but\nprison authorities have so far not allowed her to go to hospital for treatment.\nMs. Allahyari was on\u00a0hunger strike<\/a>\u00a0for 12 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sepideh\nQolian was arrested in January 2019, for a second time. She says she was\ntortured physically and psychologically while in detention. In July 2019, she\nand a number of other inmates were badly beaten and\u00a0brutalized in Qarchak Prison<\/a>\u00a0by dangerous inmates\nenticed by prison authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nCourt of\u00a0Tehran\u00a0<\/em>held Saba Kord Afshari<\/a>\u00a0 trial on August\n19, 2019. on August 19, 2019 :The Court of\u00a0Tehran\u00a0<\/em>sentenced Saba Kord Afshari<\/a>\u00a0 to 24 years in\nprison for\u00a0protesting\u00a0<\/em>the\ncompulsory veil and refusing to cooperate with the regime and make forced\nconfessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ncharges leveled against her included \u201cpropaganda against the State\u201d and\n\u201cassociation and collusion aimed at national security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms.\nKord Afshari was first\u00a0arrested in August 2018\nduring street\u00a0protests\u00a0<\/em>in\u00a0Tehran<\/em><\/a>. She\nwas taken to Qarchak Prison and detained in limbo. Then, she was\u00a0sentenced to one year<\/a>\u00a0in\nprison for \u201cdisruption of public order\u201d and was transferred to the women\u2019s ward\nof Evin Prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On August\n5, 2019, Branch 28 of\u00a0Tehran<\/em>\u2019s\nRevolutionary Court sentenced\nlabor activist Atefeh Rangriz, presently imprisoned in Qarchak Prison in\nVaramin, to 11 years and six months in jail and 74 lashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Labor\nactivist Atefeh Rangriz was arrested along with a number of other labor\nactivists during May 1\u00a0protests\u00a0<\/em>in\u00a0Tehran<\/em>. In an\u00a0open letter<\/a>\u00a0on\nAugust 15, 2019, she described the conditions in Qarchak Prison as \u201chell.\u201d In\nthis letter, Rangriz wrote that each of the ten wards in Qarchak Prison\naccommodates between 120 to 150 inmates. Every 12\u00a0prisoners\u00a0<\/em>are\nheld in a \u201ccabin\u201d only 8 square meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nasrin Javadi<\/a>, another\nretired worker of social security, was sentenced to seven years in prison and\n74 lashes for participating in the Labor Day\u00a0protest. <\/em>Journalist\nand student activist,\u00a0Marzieh Amiri<\/a>, was\nsentenced to 10 years and six months in jail and 148 lashes, for taking part in\nthe May Day\u00a0protest\u00a0<\/em>in\u00a0Tehran<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parvin Mohammadi<\/a>, vice president of the Free Union of\u00a0Iranian\u00a0<\/em>Workers, was sentenced to one year in prison upon the verdict of\nthe Court of Karaj which tried her on August 24, 2019. She is accused of\n\u201cpropaganda against the state.\u201d She was arrested by security forces during a\nLabor Day gathering in Karaj on April 26, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On\nMonday, August 26, 2019: Three civil activists, Shima Babaii<\/a>,\nMojgan Lali, and Shaghayegh Mahaki were sentenced to a total of 18 years in\nprison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each of them was sentenced to six years in prison. Their court\nhearing was held on April 21, 2019, in\u00a0Tehran\u00a0<\/em>and\ninformed them of their charges which included \u201cassociation and collusion\nagainst national security\u201d and \u201cpropaganda against the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On August\n28, 2019, the Iranian regime declared a new plan called \u201cNazer 1\u201d to further\nstep up suppression of women for improper veiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new\nplan is designed to put maximum pressure on women. According to the new plan, the\npolice will be present in public places, major stores, and beaches to give\nwarning to women who are considered improperly veiled according to the regime\u2019s\nstandards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\u00a0Iranian\u00a0<\/em>Regime\u2019s police have already\nimplemented the Nazer 1 plan to monitor women who remove their veils inside\ntheir cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heavy Sentences for Women\u2019s Rights Activists<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Three women\u2019s rights activists held in Qarchak Prison (Shahr-e Ray) have been sentenced to a total of 55 years and six months in prison, all of which must be implemented. The Revolutionary Court of\u00a0Tehran\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>informed<\/a> Yasaman Aryani, Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavar of their sentences in the absence of their lawyers on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n August 13, 2019: Marzieh Amiri, a journalist and student activist was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison and 147 lashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trial of Marzieh\nAmiri was held in Tehran on August 13, 2019, presided by the notorious judge, Mohammad\nMoghiseh. Her sister, Samira Amiri wrote on her personal social media that her\nsister was sentenced to 147 lashes and 10 and a half years in prison, six years\nof which can be enforced. Marzieh Amiri suffered from epileptic seizures at the\ntime of interrogation due to physical and psychological pressures. But Judge\nMoghiseh has opposed her bail and temporary release for medical treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arresting cyclists Women and those who enter the stadium <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n An\u00a0<\/em>young Iranian\u00a0female football fan who set herself on fire a week ago has died. The woman, Sahar Khodayari, known as \u201cBlue Girl\u201d, was arrested in March when she tried to enter a football stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After being jailed for three days she was released on bail and waited six months for her court case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when she appeared at court she found out it had been postponed because the judge had a family emergency. Because of her unsettled situation and out of despair, Khodayari set herself on fire. She died a few days later in the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n July 30, 2019 : 70 women cyclists were arrested in\u00a0<\/a>Tehran<\/em>\u2019s Vali-Asr Square. Gholam Hossein Ismaeli, spokesman for the Judiciary, confirmed the news on the arrests of 70 women cyclists when talking to a reporter. He said the 70 women cyclists had been arrested for breaching the rules of \u201cchastity and Hijab.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ismaeli\ndid not provide any details particularly around the timing of the arrests of\nthe 70 women cyclists. (The state-run ISNA news agency \u2013 July 30, 2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier,\nMassoumeh Ebtekar, deputy to\u00a0Iranian\nregime president Rouhani<\/em> in family and women\u2019s affairs, had earlier\nconfirmed that \u201cthere are no rules in\u00a0Iran\u00a0<\/em>which\ncould prevent women from riding bicycles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last\nJuly, a research done by the Office of Cultural Studies of\u00a0the Research Center<\/a>\u00a0of\nthe\u00a0mullahs\u2019\u00a0<\/em>parliament\nindicated that some 70% of\u00a0Iranian\u00a0<\/em>women\ndo not believe in the mandatory dress-code, namely the head-to-toe black veil\ncalled \u201cchador.\u201d Nevertheless, the regime has further stepped up pressure and\nrestrictions on women under the pretext of improper veiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is worth\nmentioning that the Iranian regime\nstill does not allow women to enter stadiums, and despite warnings by FIFA, it\nhas not taken any steps to allow women to watch football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On\nAugust 3, 2019, The World Football Federation\ndeclared that it has given the Iranian Federation until August 31 to determine\nthe presence of women in\nsports stadiums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arresting women for taking part at parties <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n July 30, 2019: An IRGC (<\/a>Islamic\u00a0Revolutionary Guard\u00a0<\/em>Corps<\/a>) official in\u00a0Hamadan<\/a>\u00a0Province announced the arrest of 20 women at a party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hamadan\u2019s\nIRGC official announced the news as \u201cdismantling the assembly of a women\u2019s network\naimed at promoting a Western lifestyle\u201d, and without mentioning the details and\ntiming and how the group was dismantled, only stated, \u201cthe 20 detained women\nwere dealt with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ali\nAkbar Karimpour, public relations and propaganda officer for the Hamedan Army\nof the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, told the state-run ISNA news agency\nthat \u201cVirtual and real-life groups have networked to recruit women and girls in\nHamadan to prepare them for special and anti-cultural events.\u201d (state-run ISNA\nNews Agency \u2013 July 30, 2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Early marriages or forcible marriages, flip-side of the coin of discrimination against women <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Early\nmarriages and child marriages are examples of violence against women and the\nworst form of oppression against girls and the future of women of\u00a0Iran.\u00a0<\/em>According to statistics\nreleased by the regime, at least\u00a043,000 girls under 15<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0180,000 girls under 18<\/a>\u00a0get\nmarried in\u00a0Iran\u00a0<\/em>every\nyear. There are 24,000 widows under 18 and 15,000 widows under the age of 15\nin\u00a0Iran<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200cBut the\nstate-run daily Entekhab published a report in March 2019, citing\u00a0Ali Kazemi<\/a>, advisor to the legal deputy of the Judiciary\nBranch. According to Kazemi, \u201cBetween 5 to 600,000 children get married every\nyear (in\u00a0Iran)\u00a0<\/em>according\nto the officially-registered data. The main problem is that there are marriages\ntaking place beyond those officially registered.\u201d (State-run daily Entekhab \u2013\nMarch 4, 2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behzad\nSattari, the general director of the Welfare Organization in\u00a0Ardabil<\/a>\u00a0 admitted,\n\u201cOut of a total of 12,000 marriages over the past year in this province, 37\npercent (i.e. 4,400) have been from among girls between 10 to 14 years of age.\nThis is while 42 percent of the total number of marriages in this province were\nfrom among women under 19 years of age.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On\ncommon practice of early marriages in the city of Khalkhal<\/a>,\nanother city in Ardabil Province, Sattari said, \u201cLast year, from a total of 712\nmarriages in this city, 7 percent were from among young girls between 10 and\n14.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\nsaid: Based on the data published by the national registrar, 37,000 girls\nbetween 10 and 14 years of age have married in 2015 in\u00a0Iran<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nDirector of\u00a0Iran\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Census\nOrganization in\u00a0Hamadan\nProvince<\/a>\u00a0stated that in 2018, 44 girls under the age of 15 were\npregnant in Hamadan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\naddition to the pregnancy of 44 girls under 15 in Hamadan, the Director of\u00a0Iran\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Census Organization\nin\u00a0Kurdistan Province<\/a>,\nHassan Soumi also said, \u201c4% of divorces are for girls under the age of 18.\nAbout 16 percent of marriages registered during the first four months of 2018\nare girls under the age of 18.\u201d (State-run IRNA News Agency \u2013 August 3, 2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the reports of the past month, forcible marriage has been among the reasons for suicide among young women in\u00a0Iran\u00a0<\/em>who in the absence of any legal support, find their only way out of problems in ending their own lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Wednesday, June 5, 2019, Souma Khedri, 19, ended her own life by taking rice pills. Souma who lived in Kiyouleh village in Baneh (western\u00a0Iran),\u00a0<\/em>had been compelled into forcible marriage with a relative against her own will. Souma Khedri\u2019s family refused to turn her body in to the Coroner\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In another report on forcible marriage from\u00a0Piranshahr<\/a>, Sara Esmaili, 17, who had been forced to marry a relative ended her own life on Friday, May 31, 2019, in the village of Pasveh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n August\n26, 2019: A 16-year-old young woman by the name of Ziba set herself on fire to\nevade her family\u2019s insistence that she marries an old man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nstate-run Khorasan daily published a report on August 26, 2019, saying that the\nyoung woman was being\u00a0forced\ninto this marriage<\/a>\u00a0by her step mother. According to this report, many parts\nof Ziba\u2019s face and body got burned, but she has been released from hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also in June, there were a\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0on suicides of young woman due to forcible marriage. Sara Esmaili, 17, from Piranshahr, committed suicide to evade forcible marriage due to lack of legal protection for women under the law. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nExamples of Violence Against Iranian\nWomen<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Forcible Marriage Among Reasons For Suicide Among Young\u00a0Iranian<\/em> women<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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