On Monday May 13, Canadian
Parliament during the “Iran Accountability Week: cancelled the testimony of a
well known Iranian lobbies, Trita Parsi due to protests by the
Iranian-Canadians. This is the second time that Iranian-Canadians prevent
Trita Parsi from speaking for Canadian policy makers. Trita Parsi is the
founder of NIAC which is after US relations with the Iranian regime. Iranians
during their protests and on Twitter were wondering if Majid Jowhari and Ali
Ehsasi 2 Iranian-Canadian MPS from Liberal Party were behind inviting Trita
Parsi and another regime apologist, Nader Hashemi.
******
The website belonging to the municipality
of Isfahan-Iran posted an announcement on May 15, saying: “We are
unable to hand over bicycles to the honorable ladies and youths under 15.” The
website of the municipality of Isfahan published a document according to which
the Prosecutor of Isfahan had addressed the police, instructing them, “Stop
women bicyclists and confiscate their identification papers. If they do not
have ID, impound their bicycles and take them to the parking lot.”
The news on the ban was published
by the website of the municipality of Isfahan, after the Friday Prayer leader
of Isfahan, Abol-Hassan Mahdavi, slammed the municipality, by saying, “A group
of people have made people sinful by promoting happiness. People are
encouraging women to ride bicycles in Isfahan’s Charbagh.” Charbagh is one of
the top tourist sites in Isfahan.
Earlier, Ahmad Abdollahi, secretary
of the Anti-Vice Staff in the Province of Isfahan, had said in September 2018,
“Women’s bicycling in public without providing the necessary infrastructures is
against the Sharia.”
In 2016, the state-run Fars news
agency published news on remarks by the Iranian regime’s supreme leader, Ali
Khamenei. It wrote, “Some time ago, a government official attributed a fatwa on
his social (media) page to the great leader of the Revolution. He claimed that
he did not have any problem with women’s bicycling in public if the religious
issues are observed. This is while according to Khamenei, women’s bicycling is
only allowed if it is not in the public’s eye.” (The state-run Fars news agency
– September 10, 2016)
There is no law in
Iran which bans women’s bicycling, but judiciary and police deprive
Iranian women from their natural right to suppress, harass and pressure them in
the streets.
******
On Monday May 13 hundreds of
students in Tehran University held protests against pressure on female students
regarding their Hijab. A number of students were beaten up by the university's
security forces. On the same day students of university of Sannadaj and
Boushehr held similar protests.
******
On May 15 security forces broke
into Nahid Shaqhaqi’s house a women rights activist and brutalized Nahid
Shaqaqi and took her away to an unknown location. Nahid’s brother wrote on his
Instagram, “Nahid called me this morning, and told me that Intelligence agents
are behind her door. But when I arrived at her residence, I saw that the door
had been broken and her home had been left unattended. We have no information
yet on her place of detention and even the nature of persons who have arrested
her. We have followed up with the Evin Prison and the police station
in her neighborhood, without obtaining any answers. We remain uninformed and
concerned.” The secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
issued a statement and called on international organizations defending human
and women’s rights to vehemently condemn the raid on women and take urgent
action to free those arrested.
