By Published On: June 8, 2019Categories: NEWS
Statement by Women's Committee of the NCRI

The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), issues a statement on the increasing repression on women in Iran- June 7, 2019

As the regime finds itself the subject of increasing public ire, it is ramping up its repressive measures to prevent the outbreak of social unrest.

At the forefront of the mullahs’ minds will be the nationwide uprisings of 2018 which saw protests spread rapidly across all 31 Iranian provinces. Those protests marked a watershed for the regime. It was the first time that Iranians from all sectors of society had risen up in such an overt rejection of regime rule.

The Role of Women

Women played a central role in the 2018 uprisings. As a result, women have been targeted by the regime’s repressive mechanisms.

Mohammad Abdullah-Poor, a senior member of the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), revealed that the regime had assembled more than “2,000 groups in charge of giving verbal and practical warnings” to women.”

These extrajudicial groups charged with thuggishly enforcing regime laws and arbitrarily harassing members of the public and opposition have issued more than 28,000 warnings to women for improper veiling on their patrols, Abdullah-Poor claimed.

In a statement made to the state-run Tasnim news agency, he said: “The issue of chastity and veil is not an ordinary issue, but an issue of political significance and security for the country.”

His comments echo those of Mohammad Reza Es’haqi, the head of the State Security Force of Gilan Province. He claimed that 28,238 women had been “dealt with” for improperly veiling. For 64 of these women, the incident resulted in the case being referred to the Justice Department.

A Climate of Fear is Permeating into the Regime’s Leadership

The crackdown on Iranian women only serves to demonstrate the fear present in the regime. The mullahs know that they are on borrowed time. They know that their days in power are numbers and they know that women will be at the forefront of the opposition protests that will ultimately bring about their demise.

The Iranian opposition and the People’s Mujahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) has urged the United Nations (UN) to protect Iranian women from this arbitrary harassment and detention. The pro-democracy group headed by President-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi called on the UN Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “and all advocates of women’s rights,” to condemn the regime’s behavior towards Iranian women.

The MEK urged the UN to support the calls of Iran’s women for freedom and the realization of a free and democratic Iranian state, committed to gender equality and religious tolerance.

Staff writer

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