Iranian women sexually assaulted by police
IRANIAN women are being sexually assaulted, tasered and beaten in a fresh morality police crackdown on those flouting Tehran’s strict dress codes.
Multiple videos posted online show women being bundled into the back of vehicles for infractions as minor as wearing a coat that is too short or too colourful. Under the code name “Noor” or “light” in Farsi, the Islamic Republic has launched a major new clampdown on anyone violating its draconian female dress codes.
Women in Iran told The Telegraph of sexual abuse and being denied entry to public spaces such as subway stations, universities, and cafes for not complying with headscarf rules or for wearing fitted trousers.
The latest severe measures started on April 13, just hours before Iran launched hundreds of suicide drones and missiles at Israel. Many Iranians speculate this timing was chosen because global attention was diverted.
“I was approached by a group of plain-clothes officers at around 5pm last Wednesday when I was walking on the pavement towards home,” said Taranom, 25, a civil engineering student in Karaj, near the capital Tehran. (Like others in this article, a pseudonym is being used to protect her identity.)
“I had my headscarf loosely draped around my neck, ready to be pulled up if I encountered them but everything unfolded too swiftly for me to react,” she added. “One of them, with a long beard, made a call and requested a van to be brought to the scene,” she recalled
“Shortly after, he began touching me inappropriately. He was touching my breasts and was telling me ‘Isn’t this what you wanted by coming out like this? Enjoy then’. It was the worst moment of my life,” she said.
“I tried to resist, but another one of them grabbed me by the hair and slammed me onto the ground.
“Feeling helpless, I attempted to scream and call for help but there was no one there. I stood up but another one grabbed my shirt and slammed me to the ground again,” she recalled.
A white van arrived a few minutes later and she was dragged inside while screaming. Four other girls, all crying, were already in the vehicle. They were then taken to a police station where they found dozens of other women.
She waited in a room for five hours. Eventually, she was given papers to sign, which she said stated that she should not appear without a hijab again and that she would not file a complaint about the officers.
Across Iran, hundreds of women like Taranom have been arrested over the past week, and many more have been summoned and subjected to the use of force due to violations of dress codes.
Videos posted online show the morality police violently arresting women. One clip from Tehran shows a woman surrounded by nearly a dozen officers, with two women slapping her face and two men pushing her into a vehicle.
In another, a woman can be heard saying “Let me put on [my headscarf ]” as a male officer tasers her.
The crackdown has also extended to online platforms. Police have arrested several women who shared their experiences and dozens of Instagram pages have been blocked.
Universities and cafes have not been spared either. More than 200 students from Amirkabir University in Tehran went on strike on Sunday and refused to attend classes in protest against new rules at universities.
“They have separate entry doors for girls and boys. At the gate designated for girls, there are cameras to identify those not wearing the hijab,” said Noshin, a student at Tehran University.
In north-eastern Mashhad, Parvin, a 32-year-old nurse, was denied entry to a subway station, while in north-western Tabriz, Shahnaz, a 24-year-old student, was refused entry to a cafe.
“They are everywhere you look,” said Parvin. “They are using this time when the world is distracted by their conflict with Israel to harass us.”
After being grabbed and verbally abused by a female officer at the subway station for failing to wear a headscarf, Parvin instead chose to walk. “I refused to let them dictate what I should wear.”
‘They are using this time when the world is distracted by their conflict with Israel to harass us’