Ashkan Khatibis Response to Denial of Services to Unveiled Women

“Ashkan Khatibi” reacted to the denial of services to unveiled women by various centers.

Ashkan Khatibi, born in 1958, is an actor, singer, presenter, and director. During the 1401 protests, he had posted messages on Instagram against the system and, on the pretext of stories published in which he insulted sacred values and criticized the system, he was physically attacked by plainclothes individuals in the street and was repeatedly threatened with death by phone calls, to the extent that he gave up his phone line and quit his work.

Khatibi announced that after the physical attack and threats, he suffered a heart attack once, and recalling what happened to him, he suffers nervous attacks. But with hope, he declared that this blood will not be washed away; now it is sometimes awakening. Because day will come and the stage will be free.

Ashkan Khatibi’s reaction did not remain silent, and by posting a photo on his Twitter page, he reacted to the denial of services to unveiled women.

During the Nowruz holiday when people traveled to recreational places, most were present without hijabs in these places and courageously stood against the enforcers of virtue. However, according to the system’s circular to all centers regarding denying services to unveiled women, many centers refrained from providing services to unveiled women and girls.

The photo that Ashkan Khatibi published was related to Isfahan Metro, which refrains from selling tickets to unveiled women. He wrote about this: “Circulars issued in the new year to executive bodies and various service centers and the campaign of the key phrase ‘politically forbidden’ and… all indicate an official government call for an internal war. A war in which freedom-loving people of Iran, most of whom are on the brink of death and are deprived and will be deprived of citizens’ rights, must fight for survival against government supporters who are a minority, for example those with control of fire.

They have force and money and weapons and government support, but we have empty hands, a lump in our throats, tears in our eyes, and fire in our hearts. The struggle is unequal, but let us not forget that we are the majority, we are countless, and this is what they do not have. Look at their celebrations and marches and television programs to understand how lonely they have become, but on the other side, a few-second video of the courage of a local shopkeeper brings floods of support and reaction.

Now gradually men are not remaining silent about harassment and insult to women in public places. Especially under this crushing economic and security pressure, we must also pay attention to the families of the immortals, the imprisoned, or those who lost their eyes in the way of freedom. We must hold each other firmly in our arms. The shared pain we have is our connecting link; let us not shout it at each other but become one and shout our cry at the system. Left, republican, royalist, secular, and religious—we all want one thing, and that is freedom from the bonds of tyranny. Let us remember that regardless of our view on the matter of religion, for years we have lived and grown in a family or society that believes in traditions and beliefs. Radical reactions to these traditions or tendencies do not bring maximum engagement.

How many are the families and religious individuals whose thoughts and hearts are with us. We must encourage them to abandon passivity and join the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. The diverse Iranian society, over the past two hundred days, has repeatedly shouted this unity from east and west, north and south in the ears of the streets and this very virtual space. These days, daily life in Iran is a war. The more numerous we are, the more hope we will have for victory.”

Unity, solidarity, and widespread presence of people in the streets indicate the victory of the popular revolution and the fall of the regime, which the system is fully aware of. The secret to victory is this very solidarity that has been linked together like a chain.