Children’s Literature Activists Protest Crackdowns: Teen Protesters’ Response Should Not Be Bullets and Prison

Hundreds of activists in the field of children’s and young adult literature in Iran condemned the detention of teenage protesters and the presence of children in special suppression units by issuing a statement on Thursday.

These children’s literature activists stated on Thursday, October 29, in their statement: “These days, amid angry people and those seeking justice who have taken to the streets in protest against the killing of Mahsa Amini, there are also spirited teenagers who have joined the protests hoping to jointly write a bright future free from injustice, oppression and suppression.”

The statement continued, referring to the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Iran’s law on the protection of children and adolescents: “The response to any protester, especially a teenage protester, should not be bullets, nor should their place be in prison.”

In this statement, activists from various fields in children’s literature, including writers, translators, journalists, illustrators and publishers, also “called for the immediate release of detained teenagers and an end to the bloody suppression of protesters.”

The signatories in their statement also described “lining up armed teenagers in military uniforms against protesting people” as “a clear example of child rights violations and instrumental use of children,” and wrote: “This manner of dealing will have unpleasant and irreversible consequences for those in command.”

According to reports, during protest gatherings following the killing of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old young woman from Saqqez who became a victim of Iran’s mandatory hijab law, at least four children have been killed so far, and dozens of other children and teenagers have been detained and wounded.

Meanwhile, images have been circulated on social media showing that children have been used among suppression forces. In these images, children can be seen wearing special guard uniforms and some suppression tools including batons and shields have been placed in their hands.

At the same time, the IRGC Ground Forces on Wednesday, October 28, in an attack on the Kurdistan region, targeted the area around a school where students were present, during which several children were wounded.

In this attack, a pregnant woman was also killed. Her newborn’s condition after premature birth was reported as unstable, but one day later the infant died due to brain death.

Source: Radio Farda