Homa Darabi's death commemorated on social media; a woman who set herself on fire in protest against compulsory hijab
At the end of a week when a clash between citizens and police officers to prevent the arrest of two women became a hot topic on social media, some users have recalled the anniversary of Homa Darabi's self-immolation in protest against the mandatory hijab.
Homa Darabi, a woman in Tehran's Tajrish Square on March 13, 1993, took off her hijab and set herself on fire. She was a member of the People's Party of Iran and had received a doctorate in psychiatry and pediatrics from the United States.
Ms. Darabi returned to Iran in the 1950s and began practicing medicine and teaching at the university. In 1980, she was expelled from the university on charges of improperly wearing a hijab and not observing Islamic etiquette, and her practice was closed.
Parastu Forouhar, the son of Dariush and Parvaneh Forouhar, shared a portion of Parvaneh Forouhar's speech on the occasion of Homa Darabi's self-immolation on Twitter.
In this speech, Ms. Forouhar said about Homa Darabi and her protest movement: After many struggles for women's rights, she did not surrender to force when "all roads were closed." "Neither in bed, nor calmly and silently, flaming and angry, she took the life that was denied her as a challenge and swept her off her feet."
Parastu Forouhar and Dariush Forouhar, the Secretary General of the People's Party of Iran, were killed by the Islamic Republic's security forces with multiple stab wounds shortly after in December 1998.
Journalist Fereshteh Ghazi also shared a link to her interview with Bahram Namazi, a member of the Iranian People's Party, who said about Homa Darabi: "She was very annoyed by these dirty deeds they do in the name of religion and belief and saw no way out. She wanted to do this symbolically so that all the people would understand what was going on and what was happening. But the people were so busy with their lives that nothing happened, except that their friends were all sad. Many did not bring anything to themselves, and the government did not bring anything to itself at all."
Public protests by women against the "compulsory hijab" in Iran began on January 27, 2017, when "Vida Movahed" climbed an electricity box on Enghelab Street and tied her white scarf to a pole, leading other women to take to the streets in various cities in Iran to demonstrate civil protest.
The protesting women, who held their scarves in their hands and protested silently in various parts of Iranian cities, became known as the "Girls of Revolution Street."
Girls on Enghelab Street, such as Shaparak Shajarizadeh, Vida Movahed, Narges Hosseini, Shima Babaei, and Maryam Shariatmadari, were arrested by law enforcement and security officials with inappropriate treatment by law enforcement forces, and the Iranian government issued prison sentences for some of these protesters.
On Saturday, February 17, at the intersection of Karim Khan and Hafez streets in Tehran, another protester tied her black scarf to a pole. On the same day, public intervention to prevent the arrest of two women by the Ershad patrol in Tehran's Narmak neighborhood led to shots being fired in the air.
Masih Alinejad, a journalist and founder of campaigns against compulsory hijab, also posted a video on Twitter on Thursday, March 19, showing a government supporter attacking a woman with pepper spray. “Why is this sheer violence not shown in the media of our country?” he wrote.
The US State Department and human rights organizations have repeatedly protested the harsh treatment of protesters against the mandatory hijab in Iran in recent years.
Previously, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, protesting the arrest of 30 women opposing the mandatory hijab, stated that "the Iranian people deserve to have their human rights respected."
Source: Voice of America
