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A Year of Suppression of Women in Iran |
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Friday, 30 March 2007 |
NCRI – The NCRI Women’s Committee drafted an assessment of the repression of women in Iran for the past year. Results of its studies show 88 % of women are victims of psychological violence. They are subjected to harassment, ill-treatment and suppression because of the shape or colour of their clothes. The word “mal-veiling” in the mullahs’ jargon, is not only related to the head scarf but to behaviour and all garments covering a woman‘s body, considered to be the source of temptation and sin.
Last year, (21 March 2006 to 21 March 2007) 317,000 women received a warning in the street about their attire. This took the form of more repressive regulations in offices and Universities.
The Minister of Sciences declared that students’ indecent clothes gave a shocking image of Universities: “The university environment is not free of any constraint. Students do not have to come to University with odd clothes and make-up causing disturbance. On the contrary, they have to get dressed in a strict way and respect the seriousness of the University. Students who do not respect University frame by the way they dressed, must be sent back home.” (Kargozaran Newspaper, January 21 2007).
Some officials also declared “women in black chador draw less attention” (Iran Press News, January 29 2007)
A regime MP considers “women do not have to wear frivolous and different clothes from each other that make them an object of desire, since religion forbids wearing provocative clothes”. (Kargozaran Newspaper, January 21 2007)
Sexual violence accounts for the second largest number of cases of violence, with 76% of cases of violence. This is harder and more frequent than the psychological violence. As sexual problems are in the private domain, women refuse to speak about it. It can therefore be concluded that figures on sexual violence are more important as women’s silence on this issue leads to a rise of sexually transmitted diseases and psychic trauma.
Girls consider that the only way of escaping sexual, family and social violence is higher education. They see in University an exit to avoid forced marriages and an opportunity to live in an independent way throughout their course, even if violence at University takes other forms. Therefore we can conclude violence against women has risen dramatically since Ahmadinejad became the mullahs’ President.
During the Iranian year 1385 (21 March 2006 to 21 March 2007) women protested throughout the country. On 12 June, 3000 women took to the streets, on March 8, 1000 women demonstrated in Tehran, as well as several thousands more in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj. These movements have been harshly suppressed, leading to hundreds of arrests.
The year 1385 can be summarized in using official figures, raising the veil on a dreadful reality:
Executions and stoning to death: 8
Death sentences and to stoning to death: 52
Number of female prisoners: 5413
Arrested women: 5978
Warnings for mal-veiling: 317,193
Repressive operations against women: 100
Summons in the court and condemnations: 558
Divorces: 2786
Run away girls: 302,399
Women sold daily abroad: 54 women from 16 to 25 years old (19,710 a year)
Unemployed women: 1,300,012
Women in poverty: 8,002,500
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