Why Are The Women in Iran Protesting?
There is a feminist revolution currently happening in Iran, but why was this revolution needed in the first place?
Protests in Iran began after the death of Mahsa Amini, and have been spurred on by the death of a 16 year old protester. These protests are primarily women and younger people, what began as anger at the morality police and the restrictions to women's dress, have turned into broader calls for an overthrow of the Islamic Republic. Protesters have begun violently clashing with security, who in return have opened fire on them. At least 154 people are dead. Hundreds more have been injured. Hundreds have been arrested.
The Story of Mahsa Amini
In September, 22 year old Mahsa Amini was holidaying with her family in Tehran when she was dragged into a van by the morality police. Amini was accused of breaking the law that requires women to cover their hair with a headscarf and wear loose fitting clothes in public.
CCTV footage shows that she collapsed to the ground during the moments of her arrest, with eyewitnesses saying she was beaten inside the van she was dragged into. This van transported her to a detention centre where she was to be “educated”. A mere, few hours later Amini was taken to a hospital where she was already in a coma. Three days later, she was dead.
Her father blames the police, saying Amini had no previous health issues that would have contributed to her death. He also claims that she suffered bruises to her legs while she was in custody. The police refute those claims and instead insist that she suffered “sudden heart failure”.
After the funeral of Mahsa Amini, unrest and widespread protests erupted around the country, and have now spread worldwide. Women are angry. They want their basic human rights. They want their sisters to have their basic human rights. They DESERVE these rights.
To understand exactly why these women are protesting, you need to understand the extent to which they have little control over their bodies, their actions and their lives.
The Death of Nika.
Protests in Iran have reached their third week. With new motivation coming in the form of the death of a 16 year old student, known only as Nika, who was taking part in a women's right rally. On September 20, the girls family received a phone call saying she was being chased by security, ten days later her body was found in the morgue. Her aunt, who talked the BBC about the death, was arrested after talking to the media. Iranian authorities maintain that she died after a fall from the roof and that she was not detained at any point.
Nika’s family members have told the BBC that when they were preparing to bury their daughter, security forces arrived and took her body away. She was then interred in a village about 40kms away from her home.
The death of Nika has spurred on other young girls and students to join the protests. School girls are filming themselves removing their head coverings, they are removing their hijabs in front of paramilitary officials, they are climbing bridges to hold banners and remove their headwear.
Clothing
Women must cover their hair with a headscarf and their arms and legs with loose clothing. The law states that “anyone who explicitly violates any religious taboo in public should be imprisoned for up to two months, or flogged with 74 lashes.” This is enforced on girls as young as seven years old. After protests in 2017 a zero-tolerance policy against these themes of protest. The sentence for not wearing a head-covering is two months in prison, the sentence for anyone encouraging others to not wear a headscarf is 10 years in jail.
Marriage
Girls as young as 13 are legally allowed to marry. Younger girls are able to marry if they have judicial and paternal consent. In comparison, boys must be 15 years of age, that may be younger if their respective fathers, or grandfathers agree and the judge asserts. At last count there were 40,000 registered marriages of children in Iran, this number included 300 girls under the age of 14. However, should a woman be a virgin, at any age she must gain the permission of her father or male guardian to marry.
While men are allowed to have up to four wives and an unlimited number of “temporary wives”. A woman is limited to one husband. A divorce is far easier for a man to get, he needs not cite a reason for the divorce, while a women are only entitled to a divorce it their husband signs a contract, cannot provide for their family, has otherwise violated their marriage contracts or is deemed impotent, insane or addicted to drugs.
Domestic violence is not a crime under Iranian law. In addition to that, criminal penalties for muder as a result of domestic violence, or honour killings carry a lighter penalty than other acts of murder. Domestic violence is viewed as a “private family matter”.
In September 2019, a problematic legislation was passed that:
Doesn’t define the term “violence” or “domestic”
Does not remove any legal and enforcement obstacles that prevent the protection of women from their abusers and prosecute them.
After their separation, abusive husbands are required to provide financial support for their wives for three months. This encourages the victims of domestic violence to return to their abusive husbands after this time.
A woman who is seeking justice through the courts for domestic violence must go through a one-month period of reconciliation with their abuser.
A husband must be convicted three times of engaging in violent acts against his wife before she can initiate a divorce.
Marital rape is legal.
Rape
Rape victims who come foward can face prosecution for crimes such as adultery (which is punishable by execution), indecency or immoral behaviour. Accused rapists can only be convicted upon the testimony of multiple witnesses made up of four Muslim men OR a greater number of a combination of male and female witnesses. In 2019 Zahra Navidpour was found dead in her home under mysterious circumstances after she had accused Salman Khodaddi, the chairman of parliament's Social Affairs Committee.
In June of 2018, international media began reporting on protests in Iran surrounding the gang rape of atleast 41 women and girls in Iranshahr. Some of the perpetrators reportedly had ties to the Iranian security forces, which may explain why the regime sought to deny the cases. Any online activists who were publicising the protests and cases on social media were arrested for their activities.
Family
Fathers who kill their children are subject to a maximum of 10 years in prison. Mothers who kill their children are subject to the death penalty. Just two years ago Romina Ashrafi was beheaded by her father after she ran away with her boyfriend, when she was 14. Her father was sentenced to just nine years in prison.
A husband may prevent their wife from travelling abroad, and often, a woman is not able to travel without a male guardian or chaperone. If they travel alone they do risk being harassed. The husband also has the right to choose where the family lives.
After divorce the Iranian law usually grants custody of children ages seven or older to their fathers. Women usually gain custody of a child under seven, but only until they turn seven.
If an Iranian woman is to marry a foreign man and have children, those children do not automatically get citizenship, they must apply for such. The woman may do this for her children, or they can do so after they turn 18. This has only been in law since 2019, before that a child could only be considered a citizen if they were born to an Iranian man. Due to this rule there could be up to one million children of Iranian women who are not citizens.
In terms of inheritance, a man without children will pass only one quarter of his estate to his wife upon his death. Should he have children, that will decrease to one-eighth. If that man had multiple wives, that share will be divided among the wives equally. A son is entitled to more inheritance than a daughter.
When a wife dies, her husband will inherit all forms of property that are hers. In reverse, should a husband pass away, the wife will inherit a portion of the value of her husband's land, not the actual land itself. Anyone else who inherits that land may also pay the widow their share and then evict her from the land.
Criminal Responsibility
Once a girl reaches nine years of age she is considered legally responsible and punishable. For a boy, it is age 15. There are several crimes in which a boy/man will receive a harsher punishment than a girl/woman, this includes adultery.
Gender Segregation
Iranian law states that men and women are not allowed to sit in the same areas of public transport, at public weddings and in university classes. As well, they must attend separate schools. When entering airports, universities, and public buildings there are different entrances for men and women. Women are also not allowed to attend men’s sporting events in public stadiums, including if their husbands or sons are playing.
Restrictions to Political Opportunities
Women are prohibited from serving as judges in Iran. They are also not allowed to serve in the upper ranks of Iran's leadership, including as supreme leader, or as a member of the Iranian Guardian Council. As well, this council will disqualify any women who register as presidential candidates. In 2021, there were 40 women who registered to run for president, every single one of them was disqualified. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979 there has been only one woman serving as a cabinet minister. While two women are Vice Presidents (who are actually less powerful than cabinet ministers) , the other 10 are, you guessed it - men. Iran has a 290 member parliament, of which only 17 women serve.
Economic Restrictions
In Iran, a husband has complete control over his wife's ability to work. Sometimes a husband is legally allowed to block a woman from working, while some employers will not employ a woman unless they gain the permission of her husband. The unemployment rate of Iranian women is double that of men in Iran.
The Iranian regime bans women from working in certain government departments including the Judiciary Organisation of Military Forces. They also restrict women from studying 80 majors- including engineering, computer science, nuclear physics, business and English literature.
The law in Iran also provides little to no protection for women in regards to workplace sexual harrassment. There is also no legalalities for the hiring process and discriminating based on the sex of the applicant.
Women’s Rights Activists
It is never a good time to be a women's rights activist in Iran. The authorities continue to interrogate, detain, harass and imprison anyone who is deemed a woman's right activist. Shaparak Shajarzadeh, an activist for women's rights was sentenced to two years in prison and an 18 year suspended sentence after suffering prolonged detention, torture, beating and solitary confinement. She fled Iran after that sentencing, told that if she engaged in any further activism activities she would serve the full 20 years in prison. A short time later, in 2019 another hijab-protest, Saba Kordafshari was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Unsurprisingly, Iran is ranked seventh worst in the world for gender equality. It has been reported that members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have raided homes and arrested anyone they suspect to be involved in the demonstrations.
Around the world, people are showing their solidarity with Iranian women, who deserve better. A mural of Marge Simpson has been painted in Milan, showing the character chopping off her hair. The Italian artist, aleXsandro Palombo was to “celebrate the courage” of these women. In Bologna, a graphic was displayed of a women cutting her hair featured on the screen of a women’s national basketball league match with the words “freedom for Iranian women.”
We are in solidarity with our Iranian sisters, they DESERVE better, they NEED better.
