Canada Sanctions Tehran Metro CEO and Parliamentary Representative
The Canadian government sanctioned the CEO of Tehran Metro and a parliamentary representative in connection with the suppression of women.
On March 8 yesterday, coinciding with International Women’s Day, the Canadian government announced the sanctioning of the CEO of Tehran Metro and a representative of the Islamic Republic’s parliament who played roles in widespread and systematic human rights violations, particularly against women and girls in Iran.
Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a declaration: “Today’s sanctions are imposed in response to widespread and systematic human rights violations, particularly against the rights of women and girls, and the Iranian government’s continued actions to destabilize regional peace and security. Masoud Derakhshi, CEO of Tehran Metro, has been placed on the sanctions list due to his role in implementing the mandatory hijab law in the public transportation system, and Zahra Elahian, a member of the Defense and National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament, has also been sanctioned for supporting the death penalty for protesters in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.”
Mélanie Joly, Canada’s Foreign Minister, also announced: “This is the seventeenth sanctions package that Canada has imposed against officials and institutions of the Islamic Republic since the start of the protests following Mahsa Amini’s death across Iran.” Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs further stated: “Masoud Derakhshi and Zahra Elahian have used their positions to demand or implement increasingly repressive measures against women and girls in Iran.”
Following the news of the sanctions against the two government officials by the Canadian government, Mohammad Ali Jafari, Commander of the Baqiyatallah Headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, announced that the activities of morality enforcers not only will not be halted in Tehran’s Metro Theater station, but will also be expanded to other metro stations. He stated: “We want to neutralize the sedition of refusing to wear the hijab sooner by expanding our measures.”
Iranian women, following the beginning of widespread Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 1401 (2022), have shown resistance against mandatory hijab, and this wave has continued through the current year. Women’s resistance against mandatory hijab occurs as the current year, coinciding with the arrival of International Women’s Day, has seen the emergence of a campaign called “Criminalizing Gender Apartheid” by Iranian activists, with a number of women activists emphasizing the removal of the mandatory hijab from government control.
