Hospitalisation of Iranian Girl Armita Garawand, Leads to Claims Against ‘Morality Police’
New Age
Islam News Bureau
04 October
2023
·
Hospitalisation of Iranian Girl Armita
Garawand, Leads to Claims Against ‘Morality Police’
Afghan Woman Entrepreneur Empowers Women, Breaks
Barriers
·
In Major Milestone, First-Ever Women’s Cricket
Match Held In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat
·
Armita Garawand, Is Reportedly in A Coma from
Injuries Suffered During the Encounter; Iranian Police Deny Claim
·
Open Letter Calls for Action on
Women-Focused UN Resolution 1325
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iranian-girl-armita-garawand-morality/d/130823
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Hospitalisation Of Iranian Girl Armita
Garawand, Leads to Claims Against ‘Morality Police’
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic Editor
Armita
Geravand, 16-years-old, is shown in a photograph.
Obtained by
ABC News
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3 Oct 2023
The hospitalisation of a 16-year-old
girl in Tehran has led to accusations by a rights group and activists that she
was beaten into a coma by Iran’s feared “morality police”, putting the country
back on edge a year after mass protests erupted over the treatment of women.
Footage of the incident showed a girl
being carried off a train by other girls at a metro station and placed on the
platform, where she stays still, apparently unconscious.
According to Hengaw, an exiled human
rights organisation, Armita Garawand sustained a “severe physical assault” by
the “morality police” for not complying with national rules on the hijab.
State-run media, which published the
edited footage, claimed the girl had instead fainted after a drop in blood
pressure, leading her to hit the side of the train carriage.
The published footage does not show what
happened inside the train, only the girl walking on and then being carried out,
apparently by friends. The low quality video does not show clearly what type of
head covering, if any, she was wearing.
The government’s official news agency,
Fars, published an interview with the girl’s parents, in which they say she was
not attacked. The father is recorded as saying: “We have checked all the videos
and it has been proven for us that this incident was an accident. We request
people to pray for our child’s recovery.”
Iranian authorities have published
forced interviews with family members in the past, leading to accusations
online that Armita’s parents were coerced into speaking.
A journalist from the reformist
newspaper Shargh who had been trying to cover the story by going to the
hospital was briefly arrested. Access to the hospital has since been restricted
by police.
The incident, and the conflicting
explanations, have drawn close parallels to the events that preceded the death
of a Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for not complying with
hijab rules.
A woman holds a picture in remembrance
of nine-year-old Kian Pirfalak, and tulips represent the loss of 57 other
children
Authorities insisted Amini had a
neurological disorder that led her to collapse inside a police station. Her
family never accepted the explanation for her subsequent death in a coma, and
said they had been denied the right to choose the doctor to conduct a
postmortem examination.
Since then, Iranian authorities have
been trying to re-enforce the compulsory hijab for women, including passing new
legislation, but in parts of some cities the requirement is being ignored.
Security officers often patrol at train stations in Tehran.
Since Amini’s death the level of state
censorship has risen and two of the journalists that reported on Amini’s fate
remain in jail, accused of colluding with external powers. Some reformist
newspapers have been closed.
On social media it has been claimed that
history is repeating itself and that Iranian officials are involved in a
fabricated story, similar to the alleged cover-up after Amini’s death. At
minimum, the episode underlines the distrust of government officials and
state-affiliated media.
The lawyer for Amini, Saleh Nikbakht, is
in court facing charges for propaganda against the regime, including for
challenging the official forensic accounts of Amini’s death, and for speaking
to local and foreign media about Iran.
Source: theguardian.com
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/03/iran-activists-say-16-year-old-girl-hospitalised-by-police-over-hijab-rules
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Afghan Woman Entrepreneur Empowers
Women, Breaks Barriers
Afghan Woman
Entrepreneur Empowers Women, Breaks Barriers
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By Fidel Rahmati
October 2, 2023
Sima Noorzadeh, in a conversation with
Khaama Press News Agency, mentioned that seven years ago, she and a group of
girls established a wedding ceremonies office in Afghanistan. Despite
increasing restrictions on women and high demand for their services, she
successfully created job opportunities for numerous girls.
According to Ms. Noorzadeh, unemployment
and recent restrictions have caused psychological issues among women. She
believes that addressing women’s unemployment not only puts an end to the
mental struggles of millions but also contributes to society’s overall
prosperity.
As the manager of a wedding ceremonies
office in Herat, she adds that the restrictions have affected wedding halls and
the mobility of the country’s citizens.
She encourages other women to engage in
productive sectors like tailoring and flower arranging when unemployed to
rescue themselves from isolation.
On the other hand, Jamila Amiri, who has
been working in wedding ceremonies salons in Herat for four years, expressed
her satisfaction in her conversation with Khaama Press.
Despite all the limitations, she feels
good about working outside her home.
Being the sole breadwinner for her
family, she earns a living through this work and fears the day when all her
hopes are shattered.
Ms Amiri encourages other girls to
maintain their motivation and to participate in activities related to women.
It should be noted that following the
rise of the Taliban administration, restrictions on education, work, and
women’s participation in Afghanistan, tens of thousands have lost their jobs.
Meanwhile, Richard Bennett, the UN
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan, stated during the 54th
session of the Human Rights Council that more than 60,000 women have become
unemployed following the imposition of restrictions on women in Afghanistan.
Additionally, many women and girls, such
as Husna Roufi, have created job opportunities for women by establishing
workshops, restaurants, and shops.
Sourtce: khaama.com
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-woman-entrepreneur-empowers-women-breaks-barriers/
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In major milestone, first-ever women’s
cricket match held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s
Swat
Fazal Khaliq , October 3, 2023
After enduring several restrictions and
roadblocks, girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat finally played the “first-ever”
women’s cricket match in the Kabal tehsil on Tuesday.
Women cricketers from Kabal and Mingora
tehsils participated in the match, which was played in the ground of the
Government Girls Higher Secondary School Kabal.
During the 10-over thrilling contest,
the Mingora women’s cricket team emerged as winners after beating Kabal by
seven runs.
The game was attended by a large
audience, which included female spectators, Babuzi Assistant Commissioner (AC)
Luqman Khan, Kabal AC Junaid Khan, organiser and taekwondo champion Ayesha
Ayaz, coach Ayaz Naik and others.
After the match, trophies, certificates
and cash prizes were distributed among the players.
Speaking to Dawn.com, the women
cricketers expressed their happiness and recalled how they had been barred from
playing the sport.
Over the weekend, several clerics and a
group of elders in the Charbagh tehsil had prevented the girls from playing
cricket. They had called women’s participation in sports “immoral”.
After outcry from players and locals,
Swat Deputy Commissioner Dr Qasim Ali Khan had instructed officials to find a
“suitable location” for the match.
Sapna, one of the players, said: “I
can’t find the words to describe how disheartened we felt when certain
individuals prevented us from playing in Charbagh. It made us question whether
we were not considered human beings and whether we had no rights.”
She said that she and her friends had
been restless after that incident.
“But today, I am overjoyed that we were
given the opportunity to play in front of a large audience and we emerged
victorious,” she added.
Ayesha Ayaz, a 13-year-old budding
taekwondo player who has secured two gold medals and one silver medal for
Pakistan, stressed that the women of Swat possessed “remarkable talent” across
various domains, including sports.
She advocated encouraging female
participation in sports activities, asserting that they should not face
obstacles but be granted opportunities to showcase their abilities and
contribute to the nation’s prestige.
Naik, one of the match’s organisers,
also expressed his gratitude to the district administration and organisers,
hoping that they would continue promoting sports in the same way.
“This marks the initial step towards
independent women’s sports activities, and we are committed to taking further
substantial measures to offer increased opportunities to female players,” he
said.
Source: dawn.com
https://www.dawn.com/news/1779111
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Armita Geravand, is reportedly in a coma
from injuries suffered during the encounter; Iranian police deny claim
BySomayeh Malekian
October 4, 2023, 12:17 AM
The 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman
became a symbol of the resistance that sparked Iran's longest a...Read More
LONDON -- A 16-year-old girl's alleged
assault at the hands of Iran's "morality police" is renewing
criticism of the regime more than one year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa
Amini sparked nationwide protests.
Armita Geravand, a student, was
hospitalized in Tehran after an alleged encounter with police officers in a
metro station southeast of the city on Sunday, journalists and human rights
observers said.
Geravand is now in a coma, the Hengaw
Organization for Human Rights reported Tuesday.
Islamic Republic officials deny there
was an encounter between police and Geravand, claiming the girl fainted
"due to low blood pressure."
The news of Geravand's hospitalization
began spreading Sunday when London-based Iranian journalist Farzad Seifikaran
wrote on X that the teen and her friends were stopped by police for allegedly
not wearing headscarves. Seifikaran claims police pushed the girl down, she hit
her head and fell unconscious.
A statement from Tehran's metro
authority denied a physical assault had happened. CCTV footage released by the
agency, which appeared to be edited, shows a group of teenage girls stepping
onto a train car without wearing headscarves. One of the girls is then taken
out of the car appearing to be unconscious. After a jump cut in the footage,
emergency first responders arrive and take the unconscious girl away.
On Monday, Maryam Lotfi, a journalist
with Iranian newspaper Shargh Daily was reportedly arrested by security guards
after she went to the hospital where Geravand is being treated, the newspaper
reported. Shargh Daily later reported that Lotfi was freed that night. There is
heavy security at the hospital, the news outlet reported.
The incident comes over a year after the
22-year-old Amini was arrested by the morality police for allegedly not fully
complying with the obligatory hijab rules. During her detainment, Amini
mysteriously fell into a coma and then died in the hospital.
Her tragic death triggered bloody
nationwide protests which swept over the country for months. Tens of thousands
were arrested and over 500 people were killed in the protests as Iran Human
Rights group reported in April. Protests against the regime also erupted in
Paris, Istanbul and other cities around the world.
At least seven Iranian men who allegedly
participated in the protests have been executed by the regime. Many women in
the country continue their civil disobedience by not wearing obligatory
headscarves in public spaces.
Some on social media expressed concern
that the 16-year-old might be another Mahsa Amini.
"The story they [the regime] has
made up for Armita Geravand is completely similar to the story of Mahsa Jina
Amini. 'Her pressure dropped and her head hit somewhere, and she is still in a
coma,'" activist Soran Mansournia wrote on his X account quoting the
regime's defense. Mansournia's brother was killed four years ago after
participating in another round of nationwide protests at the time.
The Islamic Republic News Agency
published an interview on Tuesday with a couple identified by the news agency
as Geravand's parents.
"As they say, her blood pressure has
dropped," her mother says.
Many observers claim the video is a
"forced confession" by the parents. No video from inside the train
car or from the doorway where Geravand enters the train has been released yet.
Source: abcnews.go.com
https://abcnews.go.com/International/iranian-police-deny-claim-officers-assaulted-teen-girl/story?id=103690468
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Open Letter Calls for Action on
Women-Focused UN Resolution 1325
Gulalai Hakim,
October 3, 2023
19 international organizations in an
Open Letter to Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in advance of
the annual Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security urged them to “take action
to realize the foundational demand of Resolution 1325 (2000)—ensuring women’s
full, equal and meaningful participation in peacemaking.”
In the letter they called to support the
full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation and leadership of the women of
Afghanistan, and some other countries “in ending conflict and building peace in
their countries.”
In the letter, it is stated that women’s
rights today are under ceaseless attack and “women’s participation in peace
processes remains unacceptably low and is decreasing even in UN-supported peace
processes.”
In the end, they mentioned “without
principled and decisive action to protect women’s rights and ensure their full,
equal and meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security, we not
only risk entrenchment of patriarchal norms but jeopardize any chance of
sustainable peace.”
Source: tolonews.com
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-185374
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/iranian-girl-armita-garawand-morality/d/130823