Are Iranian Women Entitled to be Informed About Their Rights?

There are found to be workshops held every year, such as psychology, photography, film criticism to motivational seminars and film criticism, stock market, family pathology, etc. Subjects of some workshops are civil and social rights aim at helping audiences to make better choices. Now, in a society like Iran,  where half the population is women, are women entitled to be informed about their rights? At the end of December 2020, two women’s rights activists, Najmeh Vahedi and Hoda Amid, were sentenced to 15 years in prison.  Their crime was holding training workshops on marriage conditions and activities in the women’s field. Of course, the judge condemned them for cooperating with the US government. What is the Islamic Republic’s problem with social campaigns and raising the social awareness of citizenship, especially about women?

Shahla Shafiq, Writer, and sociologist, says: The Islamic republic has created an ideological model based on instrumentalized Islam as a utopian Islamic model for men and women imposed on society. All the private and public spheres are involved in this ideological repression, and the Islamic republic does not observe its citizens’ rights. According to this Islamic and ideological model, women are half men and do not have many rights. On the other hand, since the 1979 Revolution, these women have become the Islamic Republic Achilles heel. Women whose colorful presence in the last ten years in 2009, 2017, and 2019 movements can not be ignored expressed their opposition to the compulsory hijab.  Because they are women, they should make more challenging efforts to be heard by the world and defend their identity, but how does the Islamic Republic react to these endeavors and outcries?

Mahdieh Golroo, a Political activist, says: Naturally, more and more people must be suppressed by the Islamic republic. What is the consequence? More women are received lengthy prison sentences. These heavy sentences have a message for women; we do not allow you to take even one step further! If you have a demand or objection, we Islamic republic will suppress you in the worst possible way. There is a direct relationship between democracy and raising awareness and social literacy among women.

Source: DW Persian