WUNRN
IRAN MOVES TO MUZZLE
MEDIA COVERAGE OF ACID ATTACKS AGAINST WOMEN
An Iranian woman, hiding her face so as not to be
identified, raises a placard during a protest to show solidarity with the
acid-attack victims, in front of the judiciary building in
By Golnaz Esfandiari - October 27, 2014
Iranian officials are moving to muzzle media coverage of
a string of recent acid attacks targeting young women in the central city of
The attacks have sparked outrage and fear among many
Iranians who last week took to the streets of
Seven or eight women in
In recent days, several Iranian officials have warned the media over their
coverage of the crimes, accusing them of fomenting public discord and promoting
the "views of the enemy."
Hard-liners are irked over reports linking the attacks to religious zealots who
enforce Islamic norms in the country, including the Islamic hijab that became
obligatory for women following the 1979 revolution.
They have also said that the attacks should not be linked
to draft legislation that would offer protections for vigilantes, and have
criticized the media for suggesting that women were targeted for not being
sufficiently veiled.
The heads of
"Why should you pollute the atmosphere while a bill
about the promotion of [Islamic] virtues and prevention of vice is [being
discussed] in the parliament?" he asked.
"If Westerners provoke such an atmosphere, it's
because of their nature: They are anti-revolutionaries," Larijani
added. "But I'm sorry for some media that connected the attacks to the
promotion of [Islamic] virtues."
A day earlier,
'Badly Veiled'
Lawmaker Hasan Kamran said
Kamran, who is a member of the board, said associating
the acid attacks with the issue of "badly veiled" women is
against
"These media outlets are sick. They make headlines
out of false reports to make our enemies happy," Kamran was quoted as
saying by the hard-line Tasnim news agency.
The attacks have nothing to do with improper veiling,
Kamran said, adding that one of the victims is from a "very
respectable" family of war veterans.
Iranian opposition websites have reported that Arya
Jafari, a photographer who covered an October 24 protest in
Jafari's photographs of the large gathering were
published by the semiofficial news agency ISNA, as well as by Western news
agencies. They were also widely shared on social media.
Two days after the protest, authorities arrested women's
rights activist Mahdieh Golrou, who took part in an October 24 demonstration in
Scrapping the bill that provides protections for
religious zealots was among the demands of protesters both in
Some Iranians officials have described the acid attacks
as "suspicious" and suggested that foreign intelligence services
could be behind them.
Authorities have said that the perpetrators of the
attacks should be severely punished.
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Subject: Iran - Acid Attacks on Women Spread Terror
WUNRN
IRAN - ACID ATTACKS ON
WOMEN SPREAD TERROR
Zealots on motorcycles
are throwing acid at women whose veils are deemed not proper, in the ancient
city of Isfahan.
October
18, 2014 - Every day before leaving home, Sara stands before the mirror and
tightens the knot on her scarf. She has not worn makeup for two weeks and she
wears a black long-sleeved top under a raincoat. She checks the buttons to make
sure that they are all tightly fastened. But when she steps outside, she still
worries. And so do her parents.
Sara, 21
years old, lives in the historic Iranian city of Isfahan, close to Jolfa, the Christian
quarter. For the past two weeks there have been rumors going around that a
group of motorcyclists are throwing acid on women whose hejabs, the veils to be
worn over the hair in the Islamic Republic, do not meet this gang’s standards.
They target women’s faces, and the attacks are said to have been concentrated,
precisely, in Sara’s neighborhood.
On October 16 the Iranian Students' News
Agency (ISNA) confirmed one report: a woman in a car had been attacked, and
acid was thrown in her face. There was widespread speculation that it was done
as a means of punishment because the woman was wearing an “improper” hejab
arranged to show too much of the hair and face beneath. Colonel Hossein
Hosseinzadeh, deputy commander of the security forces in Isfahan, confirmed
that two such
attacks had taken place, but he said the motive was not clear and the police
were pursuing the matter.
Fazlollah Kafil, Isfahan’s governor, said
that the victim was a married woman. “It is possible that the motive was
personal,” he said. “We have to investigate such cases carefully. If we are too
hasty, we will make people feel unsafe. Police will let us know what they find
out as soon as possible.”
But residents of Isfahan feel unsafe
already. According to some reports, up to six women have been taken to
Isfahan’s Feyz Hospital in connection with acid attacks. The hospital
specializes in treating eye conditions. One person IranWire spoke to said the
average age of the women is about 30.
In addition to this, there were other
reports. “I had two patients who were burned by acid,” a doctor at Isfahan’s
Burn Center told IranWire. “I am not at the hospital every day and every hour,
so it is possible there have been other cases that I don’t know about.”
Around the time ISNA first reported one attack,
people living near Martin Passage in Jolfa witnessed another. Although it was
not reported by the media, Sara was there shortly after it happened. “I went to
Martin Passage to do some shopping,” she says. “When I got close I saw that
people had gathered around and the street was very crowded. At first I thought
there had been a traffic accident but when I got close and asked people they
said that two young women had been attacked from behind by somebody who had
used a syringe to throw acid at the them. People said that acid had made holes
into their manteaux and had burned parts of their bodies.”
Another Isfahan resident told us, “Two
weeks ago a group of motorcyclists threw a bucket at the faces of some women to
frighten them. There was no acid in the bucket, just water mixed with some
cleansers, which gave the sensation of burning. They just wanted to frighten
people. But in recent weeks there have been real acid-throwing attacks.”
All of this comes just as the Iranian
parliament has passed a law that gives further powers to morality
patrols. Ansar-e-Hezbollah—or the “Supporters of the Party of God”—a
militant fundamentalist group, announced it would be resuming its street
activities, which include targeting for harrassment women who are not wearing
what the group deems to be proper Islamic headscarves. Ansar-e-Hezbollah also
has said in the past that sexual violence against women can be attributed to
such instances of female impropriety. In the current climate, fundamentalist
vigilantes may well believe their actions are justified.
Of course, many people who consider
themselves to be devoutly religious and who follow a more fundamentalist branch
of Islam are stunned to hear what is happening in Isfahan, and this includes
influential officials and politicians. “I heard the news a couple of hours ago
and it really shocked me,” Akbar Pakzad, a well-known commander of the
Revolutionary Guards in Isfahan told IranWire.
“Such actions are forbidden,
whether by religion, by sharia or by the law. They are not human. Anybody who
takes such actions under any pretext has committed a crime and must be punished
under the maximum penalty. Throwing acid a deadly sin, which must be punishable
by death."
When asked what he thinks about
Ansar-e-Hezbollah taking action against those who do not observe rules
pertaining to Islamic dress for women, he says, “I am not a member of
Ansar-e-Hezbollah. I belong to the Revolutionary Guards and at this moment I am
an advisor to Commander [Qasim] Soleimani [the commander of the Qods Force] for
military training. I condemn this action from the viewpoint of the Guards and
the [paramilitary] Basij. About Ansar-e-Hezbollah you have to talk to Hojatoleslam
Kamil Kaveh.”
Pakzad is referring to the head of
Ansar-e-Hezbollah in Isfahan, who denies having heard the news. “Unfortunately
or fortunately I have not heard anything about it,” he said. “A Muslim would
not even think about doing such a thing even if he has only a drop of religion
in him.” Asked whether Isfahan’s Ansar-e-Hezbollah have started up a campaign
against women who do not wear their hejab in line with what the group thinks is
acceptable, he gives an odd answer. “We do not have the good fortune at this
time,” he says, without explaining why. “I have to go to Friday Prayers and
cannot talk any more,” he says before leaving.
Though IranWire contacted the police for
a comment, they refused. In general, Isfahan authorities have been unwilling to
speak on the matter. But the people of Isfahan are talking, and some are
feeling decidedly anxious and worried.
Since witnessed the aftermath of the
attack near her home, Sara has discussed it many times with many people. Every
time she looks in the mirror, she says, she thinks about what has happened and
is horrified. “Believe me,” she says, “every time, I think: this is the last
time I will see my face intact.”
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