Protests in Iran
By Kája S.
You may have heard about the protests happening in Iran. It started on 16 September 2022, when a 22 year old woman named Mahsa Amini died in hospital under rather strange circumstances. The police arrested the young woman on 13 September for not wearing a hijab. She died as a result of police brutality, severely beaten by the police.
It got even worse, when news of the death of 16 year old Sarina Esmaeilzadeh, also beaten to death by the police for not wearing a hijab during protests, came in.
They are mainly being organized by women. But the interesting thing is that younger women are joined by older women, who are usually more conservative. The protesters are made of various people, with different age gaps, gender, education and ethnicity. It is a historic moment for Iran.
Police fires live ammunition into crowds, uses tear gas, mass arrests and beats up the protesters.
“Protestors hold banners with the portrait of Mahsa Amini during a rally outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey last month,” author: Yasin Akgul, AFP - Getty Images
What are the estimated losses?
As of 10.11.2022. 16:08 The approximate losses are 367 people dead and approximately 1 160 injured. Approximately 90 000 people are protesting right now.
Since this is mainly about women, here is a reminder of some things that women can and can't do in Iran
Women cannot get a job with the same equality of payment for equal work as men. There are no laws to restrain discrimination against women, also there is no legal protection against sexual harassment and domestic violence for women. Every wife is dependent on the decision-making of her husband, for example he can forbid her from getting a job. After a divorce, custody of the child is entrusted to the husband. A woman is not allowed to marry a non-Muslim man, but a man can choose a woman regardless of her religion.
Women have to wear a hijab in public, and all hair needs to be hidden, or else they can be punished by law. Women are allowed to drive, attend university and hold public office. They can be voted into parliament. Wearing leggings, jeans, ripped jeans and loose skirts is allowed too.
Sources:
Jana Václavíková., “Protesty v Íránu jen tak neskončí. Smrt ženy byla rozbuška, frustrace roste už dlouho,” zpravy.aktualne.cz
https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/zahranici/protesty-v-iranu-jen-tak-neskonci-smrt-zeny-byla-rozbuska-fr/r~288a5d923d9511edba5b0cc47ab5f122/
Iveta Hlouchová., “Írán: Země v troskách. Vybublávají dlouho potlačené frustrace, ženy všech generací se spojily,” heroine.cz
https://www.heroine.cz/zena-a-svet/10458-iran-zeme-v-troskach-vybublavaji-dlouho-potlacene-frustrace-zeny-vsech-generaci-se-spojily
En.wikipedia.org, “Women's rights in Iran,”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_rights_in_Iran