Zahra Rahnavard to the Rulers of the Islamic Republic: 'The Stigma of Femicide Will Remain on Your Foreheads'

Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Mir Hossein Mousavi and a leader of the Green Movement who has been under house arrest for years, reacted to the news of the death of Armita Garavand, warning that the eternal stigma of 'femicide' will remain on the foreheads of the rulers of the Islamic Republic. According to a post published by the Telegram channel 'Kalameh' on Sunday, November 7, Rahnavard called the mandatory hijab law 'fabricated' and stated that 'the rulers of Iran delusionally see the consolidation of their power in a few inches of cloth' and this law. Referring to the statements of Islamic Republic officials justifying the deaths of victims, she wrote that the rulers 'sacrifice innocent girls like the victims of the Mahsa movement and now this schoolgirl Armita Garavand in the slaughterhouse of their autocracy, and each time they attribute the deaths of these girls to physiology, syncope, underlying diseases, or their suicides.' In her statement following the death of Armita Garavand, Rahnavard added: 'I warn the rulers to end the hand-to-hand war against the women and girls of our land, Iran, and remove the cursed law of mandatory hijab from the list of the country's laws.' She also warned that otherwise, 'like in the days of ignorance when girls were buried alive, the stigma of femicide will remain forever on your government’s forehead.' Armita Garavand, a 16-year-old girl, was attacked by a 'morality police' officer on her way to school on October 1, 2023, at the 'Shahada Square' metro station in Tehran for not wearing a hijab and was pushed, causing her head to hit the train's exit door, after which she fell unconscious and went into a coma. Security agencies in the Islamic Republic limited any information dissemination from the early moments of this incident by creating a security atmosphere, and ultimately, the news of Armita's death was announced with the same text by security and state media. The death of Armita Garavand, a schoolgirl from Tehran, received significant attention on social media and was met with reactions from many Iranian users and figures on social networks. Prince Reza Pahlavi wrote on his social media account: 'Those who killed Armita are the same as those who killed Mahsa, those who killed Majid Reza, those who killed 1500 martyrs of November 98, those who killed martyrs of December 96, those who killed Neda Agha Soltan, those who killed Fereydoun Farrokhzad, those who killed Shahriar Shafigh, those who killed Farokhroo Parsai.' Masih Alinejad, a journalist and political activist, wrote on 'X': 'The Islamic Republic killed innocent Armita. That brave 16-year-old girl who did not wear the oppressive hijab anywhere and did not value the government and its inhumane laws was murdered by the infamous agents of this very government. Let’s not say Armita passed away; Armita was killed.' Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote on her Instagram account: 'The Islamic Republic has once again taken another teenager to death by insisting on its inhumane ideological frameworks in pursuit of insatiable totalitarianism. Armita Garavand is not just Armita Garavand; her government-sanctioned murder has both revived the wound of Zhina for us and shown us that the child-killing nature of the Islamic Republic will undoubtedly not change.' Nazanin Boniadi, an actress and human rights activist, wrote on Instagram referring to the attack by government agents on this teenage girl in the metro for not adhering to the mandatory hijab: 'As long as we do not hold this regime accountable, history will repeat itself, and the regime will continue its brutal behavior towards Iranians and the destruction of the Middle East. My deep condolences to her family and the people of Iran for yet another tragic loss.' Ali Karimi, a former national football team player and a prominent opponent of the Islamic Republic, shared a picture of Armita Garavand on 'X' with the hashtag 'child-killing clerical regime' and said: 'We sat and watched.' Hip-hop artist Hichkas wrote on 'X': 'Armita Garavand was killed by the Islamic Republic. A few days ago, Amir Arslan Ejdehakash was also killed by the regime. These are just the cases we know about. Daily, thousands are killed, imprisoned, and abused by the Islamic Republic in various ways.' Hanieh Tosoli, an actress, also said on Instagram: 'My heart is bleeding. My heart is in turmoil. Our life is a nightmare. My heart is tired and empty from praying to God. Once, a great man looked into my eyes and said never lose hope. Hope is the secret of survival, but I have no hope. My eyes are tired of crying. I am just stunned and bewildered, with a heavy pain in my heart. Is it pain? Is it anger? Is it sorrow? I don’t know.' Ashkan Khatibi, an actor, wrote on 'X': 'Hey you sitting there, the next Armita is from you, they killed Armita Garavand too.' Abram Pili, the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, announced on Saturday morning, November 6, through a post on 'X' that he mourns the loss of Armita, a young girl who was attacked for not wearing a hijab in the Tehran metro earlier this month and has reportedly died. This senior American diplomat further noted: 'The state-sponsored violence against women and girls in Iran has been devastating for many families inside and outside Iran.' The British newspaper 'The Guardian' published on October 5 the words of two witnesses who said that as soon as Armita Garavand entered the metro car, a female mandatory hijab officer started arguing with her because Armita, the 16-year-old girl, was not wearing a headscarf. One witness told the newspaper that when Armita fell, she was still conscious. Amnesty International had previously stated that based on published reports and multiple evidence regarding the secrecy of the Islamic Republic officials in this matter, Armita Garavand fell into a coma after being attacked by a mandatory hijab officer.