Yesterday Sat. July 22 Iranian-Canadians of Ottawa during their weekly protest in front of the Parliament and across from Prime Minister's office, supported the call for the trial of the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran and honored Asghar Nahvipour (a respected athlete) who gave his life resisting a mullah who was harassing girls in the Metro in Shahre ray last Sunday July 16.
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The appeal by Golrokh Iraee against her sentence was rejected by the 33rd Branch of the Supreme Court on July 20, 2017. Ms. Iraee is presently serving a six-year sentence at Evin Prison for writing a fictional story against the cruel punishment of stoning, a book that has not been even published. She was arrested on September 6, 2014, by the IRGC’s Intelligence unit and sentenced to six years imprisonment for insulting the sanctities and propaganda against the state.
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A pro-Iran Reporter Caught Flipping Off Iranian Dissident
Protesters in New York.
Barbara Slavin, an Al Monitor columnist and longtime Atlantic Council member viewed as sympathetic to the Iranian regime, flipped off protesters on July 18 outside of a Council for Foreign Relations event featuring Iranian regime's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. According to video clips on the internet, as Slavin was leaving the Zarif event she came across a delegation of protesters opposed to Iranian regime. Slavin can be seen on this clip smiling while she raises two middle fingers in the protesters’ direction. She apologized after the video was circulating the social networks on July 19 on her twitter page.
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According to state-run Alef website July 19, on the orders of the Municipality and Police of the port city of Boushehr, women are banned from going to the beach.
The State Security Force has set up fences to control and restrict women’s presence and closed off the beach. A billboard at the beach reads, “Women’s presence in this place is forbidden.”
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A young Iranian woman shared a post and a photo in the social networks, reporting that she had been arrested for wearing a blouse and skirt. In this illuminating post, she writes: They told me it's forbidden to wear a blouse and skirt. It was the first time I was hearing something like this. I never thought the situation in the country was so bad that wearing a skirt could be counted as a crime.
And it was not just me. Everyone wearing short manteaux which was above the knees or was open in the front, and everyone wearing pants just 90-cms in length, were arrested. They were arresting people en mass. Then, when the van was filled, the captain said, 'That's enough. Let's go!'
All the girls were weeping. They were so scared.
When we arrived at the police station, their treatment became really rough. They made threats to send some of us to (the infamous) Vozara (detention center). They had us fill a questionnaire and took our photos. Then they made us sign a pledge. And finally, they said (your families) should bring you clothes and covering. We can let you go only after we check and OK them.
I told the agent, "Although compulsory Hijab is wrong in the first place, what was wrong with my clothes? Is it a crime to wear a blouse and a skirt? Where is this written?"
He told me, "The color of your hair is like those who worship Satan. Your covering belongs to Israel. Then if you fall down and trip over, your skirt flies up. Then what are you going to do? You have ruined our lives!!" I started laughing so hard that all the girls who were crying started to laugh loud, too. But I couldn't resist. I had promised Tahoora (name of a person) that nothing would happen to me again. We were humiliated so much. This wasn't any feminist tweet or an argument over literature. This was the "reality" going on. The reality that showed the real society was something else. There I learned that I must get out of the cyber space and all the hot talks in it. Education and protests must be taken to the streets. When security forces tell me that it is a crime to wear a blouse and skirt, I must not fear and I must punch them in the mouth. It's time for everyone to take to the streets and demand that violence against women be stopped.
In the end, I have a question for Rouhani, Molaverdi[2] and other officials who speak of freedoms. Is it a national security crime to wear a blouse and a skirt?
[1] Vozara is the name of an infamous detention center located on a Tehran street with the same name, where women are taken to for improper veiling but are transferred from there to other unknown locations to be tortured and sexually assaulted.
[2] Shahindokht Molaverdi is Rouhani's deputy in women and family affairs.
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The organizers of protests against credit companies who also prepare films and provide them to dissident networks and media were arrested in Mashhad. The State Security Forces Command in the northeastern Razavi Khorassan Province reported on Tuesday, July 18, that their forces had arrested a young woman in the first stage of their strike operation. The woman was among the organizers of protest gatherings and prepared documentaries on them. In addition, two masterminds who “incited the public and staged protests” were also arrested and their files were turned over to the judicial authorities to undergo the legal procedure. (The official IRNA news agency – July 18, 2017)
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Commander of the State Security Force in Isfahan declared that the SSF “opposes women’s bicycling.” Abdolreza Aghakhani said, “Some people rent their private gardens for parties. The SSF will strongly deal with this issue. More than 20 operational teams have been formed for these encounters.” Isfahan’s SSF Commander also pointed out that “20 Guidance Patrol teams have been organized to patrol the city day and night. They will deal with the cars that have tinted shields.” He said the SSF ought to be able to detect inside the cars from a 3-meter distance. The SSF will also deal with “sonic pollution,” a reference to playing loud music. Since March 2017, the SSF has “enforced the law” against 25,000 cars with tinted window shields and 8,500 cars that created sonic pollution. It has to be said that the Iranian regime has been imposing similar restrictions for almost 40 years on Iranian people. (The state-run ISNA news agency and Asr-e-Iran website – July 19, 2017)
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Legal authorities have no doubts about the need to observe the veil inside the cars. State-run Khabar online reported on July 18 that Seyyed Massoud Jazayeri, senior spokesman of the Armed Forces, added, “Defying the Islamic veil and promoting promiscuity are among the priorities of the enemy’s soft war… The State Security Force ought to undertake maximum efforts to fulfill its duty in enforcing the veil and chastity.”
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According to state-run Roozplus July 16, over the past one and a half years in Iran, sixteen female nurses, between 25 and 45 years of age, have died due to excessive pressure at their workplaces.
Ali Mohammad Adabi the General Director of the National Nursing Organization warned “Nothing has remained from the Health Ministry and the implementation of the (training) plan was a shortcut to provide for the interests of a specific group of people.”
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“We have 15-year-old divorcees in the country", acknowledged Parvaneh Salahshour, head of the women’s faction in the Iranian regime's parliament.
She has inquired information from the parliamentary research center to identify the areas more affected by child marriages. Salahshouri said that poverty is the main factor compelling families into wedding their daughters at young age.”
(The state-run ILNA newsagency, July 15, 2017)
The data registered by the National Registration Organization indicate that in 2004-2014, nearly 420,000 girls under 15 years of age have got married.
According to the statistics collected by the UNICEF and published last year, 17 per cent of Iranian girls get married under 18 years of age, 3 per cent are under 15.
Based on the definition provided by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, any marriage where one or both parties are under 18 years of age is considered a child marriage, something that creates many difficulties for children and leads to their deprivation.
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Groups have been formed in Hamedan to confronting improperly veiled women. Hamedan Justice Department’s deputy for prevention said this in an interview.
Saeed Golestani said, “We have identified 17 groups formed by the public. We are encouraging formation of similar groups in the mosques in different neighborhoods in the province.”
Golestani reiterated that those who facilitate or promote dropping the veil, will be dealt with according to Article 638 of the Islamic Punishment Law. As for the entertainment areas in Hamedan, Golestani said, “We would counter any local women who are improperly veiled.” He also explained about the implementation of a bill passed by the Cultural Revolutionary Council on the need to observe the veil and chastity in government offices. He said, “We have used the capacity of the province’s General Department of Intelligence Security to give warnings to government employees, especially women, who are improperly veiled at the workplace. We asked them to give warnings in the first stage to those people who are improperly veiled at work or afterwards, and eventually deal with them according to the disciplinary rules.” (The state-run Tasnim news agency – July 15, 2017)
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No women are going to be present in the 12th Cabinet in Iran and their presence stops at deputy minister. This was announced by Soheila Jelodarzadeh, Majlis deputy from Tehran.
She pointed out, “It seems that there is no will for the appointment of women to the 12th Cabinet.” (The state-run Tasnim news agency – July 15, 2017)
In response to a question on the number of women ministers in the 12th Cabinet, Shahindokht Molaverdi, deputy for family and women’s affairs in the presidential office, had earlier commented that everything depends on Rouhani’s decision. “It depends on the President’s decision… We are predicting and going for the nomination of two or three women,” said Molaverdi. (The state-run ISNA news agency – May 28, 2017) It should be noted that no women had been appointed to the 11th Cabinet during Rouhani’s first term, either.
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The State Security Force identified and arrested a woman whose picture had been circulated on the internet showing her walking around in the city without wearing the veil.
The young woman was protesting the compulsory hijab in Iran. Security forces turned her in to the Moral Security Police in the port city of Bushehr, southern Iran.
The SSF Public Relations in Boushehr announced, "Following the dissemination of the photograph of an improperly veiled woman in one of the streets of Boushehr on the internet, please be informed that this lady lives in one of the city's neighborhoods and suffers from mental disorder. She was guided by agents of the 11th district Police and turned in to the Moral Security Police." (The state-run ROKNA news agency - July 14, 2017)