Several Arrests in Tehran Coinciding with International Women's Day

According to reports from Tehran, the police prevented a gathering of several women in front of the Ministry of Labor on Thursday, March 8. At the same time, the Shargh newspaper in Tehran announced on its Twitter account the arrest of two of its journalists, Ali Salem and Soudeh Rakhsh. According to the Free Workers Union of Iran and several Twitter users, Mr. Salem was "severely beaten" during his arrest. Reports have also emerged on social media about the violence of the officers against the protesters and the detention of several women. A call for a gathering in front of the Ministry of Labor in Tehran had been circulated on social media days prior to March 8, International Women's Day. Since Thursday morning, several Twitter users reported a "security atmosphere" around the Ministry of Labor. The last street gathering in Iran on the occasion of International Women's Day took place in 2006 in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in Baharestan Square, which faced violence from security forces. Furthermore, following the events after the presidential elections in 2009, gatherings and scattered meetings of women's activists faced stricter prohibitions. In the call for the gathering that had been published on social media days earlier, references were made to "unequal laws in marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc., which have made women second-class citizens." Persian-speaking users also discussed major differences between men and women in Iranian society using the hashtag "Equal with Me" starting from Tuesday, March 6. On the other hand, this year's March 8 arrives amid ongoing public protests by several women in various cities in Iran against mandatory hijab. Some of the protesters against the mandatory hijab in Iran, known as the "Girls of Revolution Street," have been arrested. Based on a report published on Wednesday, March 7, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, announced a 24-month prison sentence for one of the detainees on charges of "encouraging people to corruption through uncovering hijab" and stated that there would be serious action against "structural breaking" in the area of hijab.