38 years in prison and 148 lashes may seem like a harsh punishment for many crimes, but what if the supposed crimes were charges of collusion, spreading information against the state, and insulting Iran’s supreme leader? What if these charges were based upon a distaste of peaceful protesting against the forced veiling of women?
In Iran, females – as young as seven - are prohibited from leaving their homes without first covering their limbs and head. In order to enforce such a law, state sanctioned “morality” police patrol the streets stopping women and examining their dress for any perceived shortcomings. A list of potential shortcomings includes: the length of her trousers, the length of her coat, the amount of hair visible, close-fitting clothing, overly colourful clothing and the amount of make-up worn.
The consequences of being in public without a headscarf range from fines to flogging and imprisonment. Amnesty has noted that ‘there are countless stories of the “morality” police slapping women across the face, beating them with batons and throwing them into police vans because of the way they are dressed’. (Amnesty.org, ‘Iran: Abusive forced veiling laws police women’s lives’, May 2019).
In 2017, a woman removed her headscarf and silently waved it on a stick. Women across the country joined her and staged their own protests. They became known as the ‘Girls of Revolution Street’. The protesters included men and women who choose to wear a veil as this is a movement about choice, not the imposition of rules. As these women began to face the consequences of Iran’s laws, Nasrin – herself a human rights lawyer – stepped in to defend some of them.
However, since 2018 the Iranian authorities have embarked on a brutal crackdown of women’s rights activists and supporters with at least 44 women and 4 men arrested. Subsequently, in March 2019 Nasrin was sentenced to 38 years and six months in prison, as well as 148 lashes. Some of the charges against her included, “inciting corruption and prostitution” – for her work defending protestors – as well as a charge for removing her headscarf in prison.
However, you can help Nasrin. Amnesty has a petition calling for the Iranian authorities to release her. Access it, sign it and share it via this link https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/iran-free-nasrin-satoudeh-now/
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