Tehran Police Clashes with Women

[democratic]

Source: RoozOnline

As controversial pictures and video clips of the police’s treatment of "inappropriately dressed" women are circulating on the worldwide web, the National Security Office forwarded a letter to newspapers asking them to refrain from criticizing any aspects of the so-called plan to increase public security.

From now on, newspapers and publications will be unable to criticize the various aspects of a plan that has already generated much controversy by pitting police officers against women in crowded streets of Tehran. In the past few days, several video clips taken by mobile phones have been circulating around the web: one is depicting a women being dragged on the ground by the police, another is of a woman getting kicked by officers, and a third shows a woman with a bloody face, following clashes with police officers at Haft Tir Square in Tehran. Such pictures and videos have been circulating widely on the web, and are available at popular website such as YouTube and highly-visited personal blogs. The BBC reporter in Tehran, Francess Harisson, began one of his latest reports by showing one such clip.

The official website of Kanoon Zanan Iran <“Association of Iranian Women”>, which covers women’s issues, wrote a report about incidents at the Haft Tir Square: “On the morning and evening a number of officers in charge of implementing the Islamic dress code clashed with several young women. According to eye witnesses present at the scene, officers were attempting to arrest these women. As the women resisted their arrests, a number of men appeared on the scene and began arguing with officers.”

One woman officer attempted to force one of the young women into a police car by puling on her arm, but she refused to enter the vehicle. A male officer then kicked the young girl in the shin, which led to the protest of passing pedestrians. These three women finally managed to escape the officers with the help of pedestrians on the scene. Ironically, their clothes were thorn off during the clash and they had no covering on their heads. A taxi driver who was present at the Haft Tir Square told Kanun Zana Iran, “This morning, police officers charged a young girl with inappropriate covering and dragged her into their vehicle. The young girl’s call for help sparked the public’s reaction.” According to this taxi driver, following clashes between the public and police officers in the afternoon, a mother and daughter who were beaten by police officers voiced their protest by showing their bloody faces to the public and removing their head scarves. This mother and daughter were beaten while trying to capture the clash between police officers and the public on their mobile phones.

Read more: http://www.roozonline.com/english/archives/2007/05/004745.php

[Warpy]

1. This whole thing sucks so much that MEN are coming to help!

That's the part that's amazing to me.

There is tremendous pressure in that country to modernize and put the mediaevalists back onto the lunatic fringe, where they belong. Only the constant drumbeating by Stupid has given the repressive assholes the courage they need to start attacking women out in the open to "strengthen their moral fibre" by battering young girls. They'll need that strength for their war with the Great Satan that Stupid keeps promising them!

If we could only staple Stupid's flapping mouth shut for the next two years, Ahmedinejad would be OUT and the country would most likely modernize.

[democratic]

2. Warpy

Very true - excellent post!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. We are having a contest with Iran:

Whose Big Stupid is stupider.

[MADem]

5. Funny thing, though--because of these asshole morality police over there, people get the idea that

Persian men are not, shall we say, chivalrous. In actual fact, they are. Very much so.

They will respond to "Damsel in Distress" situations, and quite willingly, too. I saw that sort of thing happen even in the Shah days...anyone trying to mess with a young woman would be surrounded by a bunch of 'salt of the earth' types who would make it clear in no uncertain terms that this sort of behavior was unacceptable and would be met with firmer measures if the offender didn't cease and desist.

More on the subject from the very brave Jadi (English is not his first language--he does very well, though)



Tuesday, May 22
BRUTALITY of special forces against "Bad Hijabs"
by Jadi on Tue 22 May 2007 12:44 PM PDT
Our government is brutally attacking Bad-Hijab women. There are special forces all over the city and they arrest girls and women who do not hide all of their hairs or do not conduct in an "islamic manner". REMEBER: THESE ARE NORMAL PEOPLE WHO WHERE WALKING PEACEFULLY IN THE STREET 5 MINS AGO.


There are beatings all over the city. My heart beats mad writing this. I feel very angry and I am not able to do anything. Many many blogs are publishing these photos and the same but newspapers do not have the right to object.



I feel hopeless. At the morning I've got the news of the arrest of one of my close friends (Maziyar Samiei) was arrested because of his leftist ideas and now he is in prison; nobody know where. And now, these photos. Today I was thinking of leaving this country. Not for studing, not for work. Just for not being here.





I don't want this as my everyday life. I don't want to accept this regime but I am not a revolutionary. I don't know what to do! I know that I have to STAY. I have to do something. WE have to do something... but what? blogging? Writing open letters to the government who does this? I don't know.

Note: Taking this photo can lead to many problems. I have to thank the anonymous photographer who took it and shared it on the Internet.
Comments (3) | Permanent Link

http://jadi.civiblog.org/blog

[Warpy]

8. Thanks for posting this

I've known a lot of Farsi women here in the US and from them I've learned what a very complex culture it is. Even with the religious lunacy, they're way ahead of us in a lot of sexual politics.

I'm all too aware of the magnificent civilization they had while my own ancestors were painting themselves blue and heaving rocks at each other.

[jaysunb]

4. Why are we getting "this" particular bit of information

at this time ????? :evilfrown:

[MADem]

6. Because Iranians in country, and expats, are doing everything they can to

get the word out about this--they want to shame the government into stopping. This is the WORST it has been in awhile--we aren't talking about harassment, we're talking about kicking and beating women BLOODY. See the pics I posted.

See Jadi's blog entry, that I posted above. People are pissed. And they're right to be pissed. The damned Guardians and their cohorts have just gone way, way, WAY over the line this time.

This is unacceptable.

[ohio2007]

7. because it's happening "now"

at this time.
you got a tin foil theory to downplay the erosion of womens rights ?
If they truly fashion themselves as a democracy in electing their president, the whack job won't even be on the ticket for the next presidential campaign.