Sediqe Vosoughi: I Protest the Numerous Oppressions Faced by Baha'i Fellow Citizens

Sediqe Vosoughi, an Islamic scholar and writer, expressed her support for Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, two Baha'i prisoners who have gone on hunger strike, protesting the "numerous oppressions" of the Islamic Republic against Baha'is. Vosoughi, who recently removed her hijab, wrote in a message to Kamalabadi and Sabet published on her Instagram page on Sunday evening, December 10, "I too stand with you in protesting the numerous oppressions faced by our Baha'i compatriots." Vosoughi, who served on the first city council of Tehran from 1999 to 2009, added in her letter to the two prisoners of conscience, "Over the past forty-five years, so much pain and oppression has fallen upon the Iranian nation that it has led to neglect of your profound and boundless suffering." According to this Islamic scholar, "The oppressions faced by Baha'i citizens from the government stem from ignorance and cruel traditions that have been justified by clerics, and these unethical and inhumane justifications have not been seriously challenged until now." Vosoughi expressed hope for a future where the civil society is strengthened and "the awakening of consciences" ends the oppression of Baha'is, writing, "Certainly, on the path to a free and democratic Iran, we will leave these erroneous traditions and their unjust justifications behind us." She also expressed hope for the arrival of "a day when all segments of the nation live together with equal rights and respect" and that citizens are not in "suffering and hardship" due to their gender or religion. Vosoughi stated, "Until that day arrives, we will stand together and strive." Previously, in April of this year, Vosoughi criticized the remarks of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding mandatory hijab, challenging his views from a religious perspective and emphasizing, "You bear full responsibility for all consequences of opposing hijablessness." She stressed that the Quran does not specify the necessity of covering women's hair and asked Khamenei, "On what definitive and irrefutable religious grounds is the Islamic Republic's strict model for women's dress based?" Additionally, Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, former leaders of the Baha'i community in Iran, began a three-day hunger strike in Evin Prison on Friday, December 8, stating that this action was in "protest against the destructive approach of the government" and aimed at "restoring the civil rights of Baha'is." Reports indicate that Sepideh Keshavarz and Mahvash Adalati, two other Baha'i citizens imprisoned in Evin, also joined the hunger strike on Sunday morning, December 10, "in protest against the government's destructive approach toward Baha'is." Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who is also imprisoned in Evin, previously announced that "on Human Rights Day, in protest against the gross and widespread violations of human rights in Iran" and in solidarity with the hunger strike of Baha'i women prisoners in Evin and their protest against the violation of Baha'i citizens' rights, she would go on hunger strike. Earlier, Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, also criticized the "significant increase" in the harassment of Baha'is in Iran during a UN meeting in New York. Furthermore, Farhad Sabetan, spokesperson for the worldwide Baha'i community, previously told Voice of America that Baha'i citizens have done nothing but goodwill and service to Iran to deserve imprisonment. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has also expressed concern over the intensified pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the Islamic Republic's campaign to detain Baha'is. According to this commission's report, currently, at least about 200 people are imprisoned in the Islamic Republic for religious or ideological reasons. Baha'i citizens in Iran have systematically faced executions, widespread social and political discrimination, and illegal actions including arrests and desecration of their cemeteries since the 1979 revolution.