Amnesty International Concerned About Detained Women Protesting Mandatory Hijab

Amnesty International expressed concern on Monday, February 26th regarding the situation of women detained for protesting mandatory hijab in Iran.

In a statement, the organization noted that following Iran’s police warning about imprisonment of one to ten years for those protesting mandatory hijab, dozens of detained women now face the danger of unfair trials, indicating an intensification of crackdowns on women’s rights activists.

Amnesty International’s reference was to a statement by Iran’s law enforcement which announced: “Under the law, moving without a hijab in public places carries up to two months imprisonment.”

The police statement explicitly stated that “encouraging people not to wear a hijab falls under the second paragraph of Article 639 of the Islamic Penal Code, which carries one to ten years imprisonment and is not subject to alternative punishments.”

Amnesty International states that more than 35 women have been violently arrested in Tehran since December for peaceful protests against mandatory hijab.

In its statement, Amnesty International also referenced the trial of Narges Hosseini on charges of “encouraging corruption and obscenity.”

Narges Hosseini was the second “Woman of Revolution Street” who, following Vida Movahed, climbed an electrical distribution box and waved her headscarf above her head in protest of “mandatory hijab.” Ms. Hosseini was tried on February 24th.

Meanwhile, Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director of Amnesty International for the Middle East and North Africa, referring to the police statement, said this is a reactionary move as part of current actions by Iranian authorities to suppress women who courageously speak out against mandatory hijab.

This Amnesty International official added that this action, beyond subjecting many women to unfair trials, sends a message to other women to remain silent in the face of violations of their rights.

Last week, the release of a video showing violent police confrontation with one of the mandatory hijab protesters and throwing her off an electrical pole generated widespread reactions.

Reports indicate that Maryam Shariatmadari, one of the mandatory hijab protesters, was thrown off an electrical pole as a result of severe police confrontation, suffered severe injuries to her leg and underwent “surgery.”

In this connection, journalist Sheila Bani-Yaqoub reported on Twitter about the critical condition of Maryam Shariatmadari in the general ward of Qarchak-Varamin prison.

According to Ms. Bani-Yaqoub, Maryam Shariatmadari, who was thrown off an electrical pole as a result of severe police confrontation, suffered severe leg injuries, “underwent surgery,” and “requires urgent medical care,” but according to her, officials are ignoring this matter.

Recently, some social media users reported a severe confrontation between a plainclothes officer and a girl protesting mandatory hijab named “Hamraz Sadeghi,” which resulted in her wrist fracture and detention.

Eyewitnesses reported that on February 24th, at the intersection of Somayeh Street and Sepahbod Qarni in Tehran, she was standing on a telecommunications junction box holding a headscarf.

The protest against mandatory hijab, initiated by women removing their headscarves known as the “Girls of Revolution Street,” began several days before December’s protest demonstrations.

To date, dozens of women in Tehran and other Iranian cities have shown their protest against mandatory hijab by removing their headscarves in public streets. Several protesting women have been arrested on the street, and reports indicate that some were injured before arrest due to violent police confrontation.

Source: Radio Farda