This week, the world was reminded of the systemic discrimination and violence against women in Iran due to the assault against Ahoo Daryaie and the suicide of 16-year-old Arezoo Khavari. They used their bodies as weapons for liberation.
Ahoo Daryaie, a 30-year-old doctoral student in French literature at Tehran’s Islamic Azad University, protested against harassment by the morality police regarding her “improper” hijab by removing her clothes and walking around her university. Reports from international rights groups indicate that security forces severely beat her before her arrest. The university spokesperson claimed she was mentally unwell, and she was detained in a psychiatric unit.
Arezoo Khavari, a 9th-grade student, tragically jumped from the roof of a building after being confronted by her school principal and threatened with expulsion for wearing jeans on campus.
Both of these incidents highlight the ongoing persecution of women in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) for protesting gender inequality. Iranian women continue to resist the country’s mandatory headscarf laws actively.
Currently, more than 500 women’s rights activists are imprisoned in Iran. They continue to fight for gender equality through hunger strikes and open letters.
