Two women have been arrested for removing their headscarves in February and prosecution of others has continued, Human Rights Watch reported. The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) reported the arrest of a third woman.
Azam Jangravi was arrested on February 14. She has since been released on bail, according to Human Rights Watch.
A few hours after Jangvari was detained, the following statement was posted on her Instagram page, according to the CHRI, which adds that she is a member of a centrist political party:
“I, Azam (Azi) Jangvari, started my political activities for women in the Reformist Women’s Assembly and the Executives of Construction Party hoping for reform. I’m tired of it. It seems we have to act. Enough slogans. I’ve done this act for freedom, for putting an end to all these laws and regulations against us women and I accept all the consequences. My action has no connection with any group or individual, whether inside or outside Iran. I did this to fight against the mandatory hijab. Let us choose our own hijab. As an individual, I have the right to choose.”
Shaparak Shajarizadeh was arrested on February 21 and remains in detention, Human Rights Watch stated.
An unidentified woman was detained on February 22 after apparently escaping arrest earlier in the day.
Video posted on Telegram appeared to show a policeman pushing a woman off a utility platform where she had been peacefully protesting. People in the crowd shouted words of encouragement for the woman, to which a policeman challenged, “Step forward if you’ve got balls.”
VIDEO: Who’s he protecting? A police man proudly pushes down a woman peacefully protesting against the compulsory hijab in #Iran. #GirlsOfRevolutionStreet pic.twitter.com/BSgOnFMv9w
— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) February 22, 2018
A bystander told CHRI that the woman struggled to get up from the ground and was limping. “The crowd quickly surrounded her and didn’t let the police come close,” the witness told the rights group anonymously. The crowd helped the woman into a taxi, but the police followed her.
“I heard the taxi was stopped at the next crossing and they arrested her,” the witness said.
An activist group, My Stealthy Freedom, has identified her as Maryam Shariatmadari, though this is not confirmed. The group said that she was beaten at a detention centre and denied medical treatment.
Authorities also released Nargess Hosseini on bail. She was arrested on January 29. She had refused to appear at a court hearing, insisting that removing her hijab was within her legal right to protest.
“For decades Iranian authorities have imposed a compulsory dress code on women violating their basic freedom to express themselves and restricting access to economic and social opportunities for anyone who refuses,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
“Now when women are peacefully protesting a discriminatory dress code, authorities are adding to their misdeeds by arresting them.”
As of the end of January, Iranian media had reported at least 29 women arrested for protesting the country’s mandatory head covering law. The women have removed their headscarves and held them aloft. Their images have been widely shared on social media with the hashtag #GirlsOfRevolutionStreet.
They were inspired by Vida Movahed who was pictured holding her headscarf like a flag during widespread anti-government protests in late December.
“Women in Iran and elsewhere should be free to dress as they please,” said Whitson. “This includes deciding whether to wear a headscarf or not, no matter what those in power think.”
Some men have also joined the protest, in solidarity.
Human Rights Watch condemned the dress code as a violation of women’s “rights to private life, personal autonomy, and freedom of expression, as well as to freedom of religion, thought, and conscience… It is also a form of gender-based discrimination prohibited under international law.”
