Anti-Hijab Protests in Iran Turning Into a Mass Uprising Against the Theocratic System
Hijab Has
Been an Issue in Many Countries
Main
Points:
1. Another
school girl died of beating by security forces.
2. 233 women
have died so far.
3. 38 girls
were under the age of 18.
4. Protesters
set ablaze the notorious Evin prison.
5. People want
an end to the theocratic regime.
------
By
New Age Islam Staff Writer
17 October
2022
22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested on Tuesday by so called Iranian
morality police.
----
Mahsa
Amini, a 22 year old girl of Iran was beaten brutally by the moral police on
September 13 and she died of the injuries on September 16. She was not without
hijab but according the police, she did not wear the hijab 'properly'. This
shows the obsession of the theocracy of Iran with the veil of women. According
to the law of Iran, a woman should cover her hair completely. Since she did not
cover her hair completely, she was picked up by the moral police and beaten up
fatally.
Mahsa's
death sparked off countrywide protests against hijab and gradually it spread to
other parts of Iran. It has now spread to more than 20 cities and hs entered
5th week. The government crackdown on protesters as resulted in the death of
233 women of whom 38 were under 18 years of age. It shows that young girls are
also protesting against the hijab. Yesterday, a school girl in Ardbil named
Asra Panahi was beaten to death for refusing to join a pro-government rally in
support of hijab. Reports of sexual assault on protesting women by the security
forces have also come. In Islamic regimes, women protesting against the
governments are considered unchaste and so worthy to be molested. During the
protests by women against the Morsi regime in Egypt, women protesters were
called whores and raped by pro-government cadre. In Iran too, women are being
assaulted and even killed for protesting and for not joining rallies in support
of the government.
But the
crackdown on women has only strengthened the resolve of the women who have got
the support of men from other walks of life like workers from the oil sector.
Now, the protests dont seem to be limited to hijab. Women and men have joined
the protests against the theocratic system where mullahs dictate what women
should wear. A woman activist wrote on twitter:
"Make
no mistake, protesters in Iran calling for an end to their theocratic system.
Slogans include 'We don't want an Islamic Republic" & "Mullahs
must get lost". They are burning images of Khomeini. Please cover what is
happening on the ground accurately."
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in police custody in
Iran
-----
The
protests are gaining more ground as is evident from the fact that Tehran's
notorious Evin prison known for brutal assaults, sexual assaults and electric
shock to the political prisoners was set ablaze by prisoners. As a result of
firing, 4 people have died and 60 are injured. Now it seems that the protests
have turned into a popular uprising against the theocratic system where mullahs
call the shots. Human rights activists and women's rights activists from all over
the world have condemned the imposition of a strict hijab and assault on women.
Hijab has
been an issue in Asian, European and Islamic countries and governments have
interfered with women's right to choose what she wanted to wear. In India,
girls wanted to wear hijab to colleges but the government imposed a ban on it.
Now a Supreme Court judges says hijab is a matter of choice and that girls'
education was more important than imposition of hijab. In Turkey too, Erdogan's
government put a ban hijab though majority of women in Turkey prefer hijab as a
part of their culture and tradition. In Afghanistan, women are told to wear a
full covering veil. Turkey's Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk criticises this
attitude of governments of India, Turkey and Iran. He says that women's right
to choose what to wear should be respected. He says in an interview:
"In
France they banned the hijab for high-school girls, that’s alright. But if you
do it for university-going women, that’s against human dignity. This subject is
what my novel ‘Snow’ is about. In Turkey, a minority was dictating this (ban on
headscarves imposed by secular nationalists). But more than 65% of Turkish
women wore headscarves as a matter of custom and tradition, rather than as an
expression of political Islam. In fact, Erdogan’s power came from this issue of
the mistreatment and forced unveiling of these women. You see, 70 to 75% of the
country was angry about it. There is a theatre scene in ‘Snow’ where the woman
takes off her headscarf and burns it, just the way Iranian women are doing now.
I admire and sympathise with these Iranian women. I am not defending the
headscarf in ‘Snow’, I am defending the woman’s right to decide what they wear,
and whether they choose the headscarf or not, just like they must decide
whether they need an abortion or not. It’s not Trump, it’s not Modi, it’s not
Erdogan — women decide for themselves. My position is perfectly liberal on
this"
Today,
majority of women and girls prefer to wear hijab in Muslim and non-Muslim
countries. There is a section among Muslim women across the globe who do not
wear hijab but even they clothe themselves modestly. Muslim women do not wear
vulgar clothes or roam the streets in skimpy dress. But the theocratic
governments have prescribed a uniform for all women irrespective of age. A
slight deviation from the prescribed clothing invites action sometimes leading
to death. This is not an Islamic way. Islam lays emphasis on inner piety and
asks men and women to lower their gaze when facing each other. The Quran
stresses only on modest behaviour and does not prescribe any strict injunction
on what kind of covering a women should use. The Quran also asks women to
conceal their 'adornments'. Islam only wants Muslim women to behave with honour
and dignity in public.
The
protests in Iran are a demonstration and outburst of long pent up frustration
of women on the imposition of hijab n them. The protests will only spread as
more and more people are joining it and demanding an end to the control of
mullahs on the government.
In the
modern age of free flowing communication and information, people or a section
of a society cannot be forced to live a life of isolation or a ghetto. People
are aware of their rights and cannot be held captive.
Iranian
women do not want the freedom.to wear skimpy dress. They only want the freedom
to wear modest dresses according to their choice. She does not want the moral police
to follow them everywhere even when they are with their brothers in a park like
Maha Amini. Mahsa Amini's head cover had slipped down the head a little bit
revealing her hair when she was roaming in a park with her brother. The moral
police called Gasht-e-Irshad had arressted her for wearing hijab 'improperly'.
Three days later she had died.
Iran's
government has been reeling under the effects of US sanctions and its economy
is in a bad condition. Therefore, it should pay more attention to the economy
than to insignificant issues like hijab. By cracking down on protesters, the
theocratic government of Iran has only invited a bigger trouble.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/hijab-protests-iran-uprising-theocratic/d/128199
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