Students of the Science and Research University in Tehran,
the capital of Iran, held their second rally on Sunday Dec. 30, expressing
their anger over Iranian regime authorities in this facility. The students are
grieving the loss of their classmates killed in a recent bus accident that
killed 10 and wounded 28. They are holding incompetent regime officials,
responsible for the incident. The students are demanding the resignation of the
representative of Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on their campus. On Sat. the students were also protesting
measures by the Iranian regime aiming to cloak the role of the regime’s
plundering mafias in this incident. One poster specifically read, “Expelling
second-class officials in this university is a sign of the regime’s obscenity.” A large number of college students took part
in this rally while the Iranian regime had taken measures to station repressive
security units on campus and nearby areas to keep the rally under control.
Prior to this, the regime had dispatched anti-riot units to create a climate of
fear at the capital’s Science and Research University.
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On Sunday, Dec. 30 the farmers of Varzaneh, Isfahan
province, gathered and marched in the streets of the city once again in protest
to unfair management and distribution of water sources. They held similar rally
on Friday. The past year has seen intermittent protests by the farmers, who
have been deprived of vital water to irrigate their lands due to the
destructive policies of the Iranian regime. The
Iranian regime has engaged in several dams and water channel creation projects
to divert the waters of Isfahan and its famous Zayandeh Rud River for its own
purposes. Among the disputed engagements is a water pipeline that is transferring
Isfahan’s water to neighboring Yazd province. The measures have deeply damaged
the agriculture in Isfahan, which is one of the main occupations of the
province's population.
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On Thursday, Dec. 27, teachers and education workers of
Isfahan demonstrated in front of the education ministry headquarters. The
demonstration took place in spite of efforts by the security and intelligence
agents of the Iranian regime to dissuade the teachers by threatening to take
severe actions against them.
Security forces had lined up in the streets surrounding
the offices of the education ministry to prevent the protests from taking
place. However, the teachers did not back down and
started their demonstration in Darvazeh Dolat Street in front of the mayor’s
office. Security forces attacked teachers, majority women, with batons and
pepper spray. Clashes ensued and the demonstrations continued, and security
forces arrested several protesters. Subsequently,
groups of teachers gathered in front of the education ministry offices.
Security forces attacked them and violently dragged several of protesters into
their cars and took them away. Several others were forced into a clinic that
was close to the location.
The teachers of Isfahan have been protesting against low
wages and are demanding the release of their imprisoned colleagues. Mrs. Maryam
Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran,
hailed the teachers of Isfahan and urged their compatriots to support them in
their protests.
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The parliamentary judicial and legal committee rejected
the plan to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls in Iran. Allahyar
Malekshahi, chair of the judicial and legal committee of the regime’s
parliament, said on December 23rd, that “The judicial and legal committee held
several meetings to discuss this issue… Ultimately, the committee reached the
conclusion that it is not possible to discuss this plan any further since it
contains religious and social deficiencies. So, it was decided that a
delegation made up of the committee members propose another motion which could
resolve some of the problems brought up by the (rejected) plan
According to official statistics, 180,000 early
marriages take place in Iran every year and comprise 24% of the total number of
marriages. A social expert revealed that at present, 41,000 early marriages
under the age of 15 take place in Iran every year.
Citing statistics on the annual records of the National
Registration Bureau (Sabt-e Ahval), a social worker had previously reported of
the marriages of 179 girl children under 10 and 36,000 girls between 10 and 14
in the year 2015.
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Afsaneh Rezaii, an elite master’s student of
telecommunications at Shiraz University was transferred to Adel Abad Prison in
Shiraz. Afsaneh’s mother who is a teacher was arrested in Shiraz
for participating in the gatherings and protests of teachers and educators in
August 2018. Holding a banner, Afsaneh Rezaii joined the protests and
supported her mother. She was subsequently arrested by government officials
after participating in the gatherings in support of her mother on Dec. 24. Afsaneh Rezaii, who is studying for her masters in
telecommunication at Shiraz University, was transferred to Adel Abad prison in
Shiraz on Dec. 24 to serve her six months jail sentence.
