From the Streets to the Courts; The Lives of Women in Iran Under the Blade of Commitment and Pursuit

In the past two years, Iranian women have continued their civil resistance and opposition against the systematic repression of the government, but the UN Special Rapporteur states that their human rights situation has "worsened." In late September 2022, when Mahsa Zhina Amini died in the custody of the morality police, the "Women, Life, Freedom" protest movement emerged across the country. However, it was severely suppressed over several months, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of protesting citizens, thousands injured, and tens of thousands arrested. Now, nearly two years after the start of this protest movement, Maya Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur, has expressed concern, stating that "the situation for women has actually worsened." This report examines this situation and includes examples of new methods used by the government for repression, as reported by some activists and citizens within the country, who spoke with Radio Farda but are anonymized for their safety. The Special Rapporteur on human rights: The situation of women and girls in Iran has worsened. Every Iranian woman has a legal file. Concurrent with the start of widespread protests in Iran, the morality police vans were completely removed from the streets. Although it was repeatedly stated that these vans would not return to the streets, they eventually returned under a new name and form. The new vans were all white and were deployed in the streets under the name "Noor Plan." Golshid, a 21-year-old girl, was surrounded by agents near the City Theater. She was not wearing a headscarf and refused to wear one. Ultimately, several agents forcibly threw her into the van. She told Radio Farda: "Most of the agents were men, and they started beating and insulting me. They even tried to humiliate my appearance." One of the threats used against Golshid was the formation of a case against women and citizens. Each woman who is detained in any way is required to provide their information, including phone number, postal address, and national ID number. All of this is recorded, and ultimately they must sign a paper that in a way admits they have committed a crime or offense and pledge not to repeat this behavior. Last week, when a video of a motorcyclist harassing a woman went viral on social media, it was ultimately announced that a legal case had been formed against that woman because she did not have mandatory hijab. Of course, the issue of creating cases against women who uncover their hijab had already begun before this plan. The experience of the past two years for women who do not comply with mandatory hijab shows that the license plates of many of them have been recorded even in places where there are no urban cameras, and after receiving a warning text message, their vehicles are confiscated. Now, a large number of Iranian women have a file, even if just one page, in which they have been forced to admit that they have committed an offense or crime.