'We will never be the same again': Iran's women speak
In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, Iranians protests the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police, in Tehran, Oct. 1, 2022. Picture: AP Photo/Middle East Images, File
Despite being arrested multiple times, shot at, and humiliated, Iranian woman Ghazaal is willing to share her story. She is risking a lot speaking to me.
We talk sporadically — punctuated by a day or more at a time. I download a secure app for our correspondence — reports that the Iranian government is using spyware to track phones are circulating, so it is imperative that our line is secure.
Ghazaal is one of the many women in Iran who have mobilised to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was in the custody of the morality police for flouting the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
“The death of Mahsa Amini has changed our lives. After seeing all the things we have seen in the days since she died, we will never be the same again.”
The number of people who have been arrested since 17 September exceeds 18,400, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran. Many of the detainees are facing expedited trials without independent counsel or any semblance of due process.
In an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN, human rights defender Hadi Ghaemi describes these trials as “lynching committees” which led to two executions by hanging; first, Mohsen Shekari and then Majidreza Rahnavard. The only evidence provided? Forced confessions believed to have been extracted under sensory deprivation, also known as “white torture”.
“What scared me was being shot in the protests. Even that doesn’t scare me anymore. We have bravery thrust upon us. We have no other option.”
Initially, she thought she was being shot at with bullets.
“It was a metal paintball bullet, but you don’t know that when you are shot. There’s a millisecond of pain that you notice you have just faced your fear and you think ‘that’s it.’
“I was shot three times from a two-metre distance. One in my heart, one on my leg, and one on the back of my head which was stopped by my ponytail.
What started with a hijab has now transformed into what many are calling a woman’s revolution. The slogan “woman, life, freedom” rings true for Ghazaal who stopped wearing a Hijab four years ago.
“Hijab means absolutely nothing to me. You don’t see many girls carrying headscarves anymore.” Iranians are “sophisticated, complicated” people, says Ghazaal.
“We struggle with a lot of things that are considered routine in the West and East.
“We face a lot of challenges that will have an unpreventable effect on our minds, personalities, and character.”
Ghazaal has been arrested by the morality police four times, three of those were for improper wearing of a Hijab.
“I don’t think any girls in this country have not been targeted by the morality police, one way or another. Everyone knows someone who has.” The last time Ghazaal was arrested, it was for driving a motorcycle.
“It was the most complicated process, it took years of trials and being questioned and humiliated.” Although Amini’s death was the catalyst for these protests on such a large scale, the unrest continues to grow to encompass the problems faced by women in their daily lives.
“There is a very official disobedience to the regime going on. I see public expressions of hating the regime.”
Hasti Yavari is an Iranian-Kurdish-Swedish activist, yoga teacher, and physics PhD student based in Cork. She is an active campaigner against the Iranian regime and regularly speaks at rallies.
Her Instagram account is a unfiltered wealth of information about the atrocities being carried out in her home country.
She most recently highlighted the death of Khodanour Lajai, a 26-year-old man who was tortured and subsequently killed by the regime after performing a traditional dance from his native Baluchi culture, an ethnic minority in Iran.
Hasti moved to Cork in September of this year and has been following the crisis in Iran closely through media and friends. The facts around the death of Mahsa Amini are shrouded in contradictions, she says, and people are still unclear as to what exactly happened.
“There are some pictures of her skull and some eye witnesses but as with many things that happens inside of Iran, you can really hardly find out what exactly happened, you know, because there's just so many countries contradictory facts about what is just going on there. Listening to her family and her brother who was there, there was a lot of violence.”
Making arrests based on “loose Hijab” is very common, she says.
“They don't have a very good blueprint of what is a perfect outfit. It's really just subjective. You would ride with them in their van, you go to the detention centre and sign some papers and your family bring your clothes and then you're free to go.”
“There are so many in their team in case things escalate. And sometimes things get more violent.”
Hasti believes that the morality police are an authority unto themselves and that the claims that they have been disbanded could be a form of propaganda.
The Iranian media have used the tactic of broadcasting forced confessions for many years now, says Hasti. It’s not clear how they get people to confess.
“Or even come on TV. And then afterwards, they want to recall that but it's just too late.” She references the multiple women who have been murdered in the protests.
“Some of the families had to come on TV and say, ‘my daughter committed suicide or had heart problems’.” Social media is censored in Iran.
“Facebook is banned in Iran, tweeting is banned, Instagram is allowed. On Instagram, there's some campaigns that they asked people to join an anti-execution profiles, say.
“People add their details to that and this is a list or a directory for them to know who is exactly whose profile is linked to the protests so they can keep record.”
Speaking with friends and family back home is difficult. You need to use VPNs but Hasti’s parents aren’t very “tech savvy” so their conversations are limited and infrequent.
Women in Iran have been cutting their hair and videoing it on social media to protest their lack of bodily autonomy. It’s inspired by a Kurdish tradition of mourning the death of a loved one as a mark of respect. Hasti says:
In 2019, the US published a report saying that approximately 1,500 people were killed in a crackdown on protests. “To this day, we still don’t have a list of those people,” says Hasti.
Hasti doesn’t believe that this is a regime that honours Islam. “It's really just creating systems based on certain ideologies that controls what people do.”
Being outwardly gay, or transgender is not really an option in Iran, says Hasti.
“The president at an address, he actually publicly say that we don't have homosexuality in Iran. LGBTQ+ activists are sentenced to death, because on their social media, they were just raising awareness.”
The protests show no signs of abating, says Hasti and although a climate of fear is being cultivated, there are cracks beginning to appear. What can other countries do in solidarity with Iran? Cease or at least suspend all diplomatic links with the country, says Hasti.
“Sign petitions, join protests, make videos, vocalise your support, the whole world needs to get behind the Iranian women."
