Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance urges women and freedom-loving youth of Iran to protest regime’s suppressive policies
In the past week, the Iranian regime ratcheted up repression of women by issuing a directive for forced veiling by Mullah Rouhani’s Interior Ministry.
As advised by regime’s leaders, this directive was first issued to government and private businesses. The agency dubbed “Headquarters to safeguard public security sanctum and citizens’ rights” issued a 10-point directive to all governorships and provincial executive departments in this regard (Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Qods Force – June 20).
According to this directive, women’s veil should be “chador or loose under-knee long dress with long sleeves without any marks, cloth pants, and a large scarf that covers the head, hair and neck with conventional colors. Unconventional jewelry should not be used. No makeup is allowed.” Male employees should also “refrain from wearing T-shirts, tight or short-sleeve shirts, tight pants or jeans, clothing with western marks, ornaments, wide belts with unconventional buckles, and unsuitable hair and beard designs”.
The state radio and television has also resorted to extensive measures for gender segregation of its employees. According to this plan, in state propaganda agencies, including radio “Warzesh [sports]”, “Economy” and “Javan”, female staff and secretaries have been removed from offices managed by men. Moreover, a number of employees, especially female contract employees, have been fired under pretext of regulating the workforce.
The repressive scheme for gender segregation was implemented last year by Qalibaf, Mayor of Tehran and a former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander, and was implemented in municipalities of Tehran before being extended to other state agencies. Regime’s officials praised this repressive measure dubbing it “cleaning women’s workplace” and “special attention to and honoring of women” and a plan “coherent with regime’s values that leads to higher production” (NCRI Women’s Committee statement – 1 August 2014). That plan led to the firing of many female employees.
Ms. Sarvnaz Chitsaz, Chair of NCRI Women’s Committee, expressed her strong loath for the intensification of repression of women under the mullahs-fabricated pretext of combating “mal-veiling” and the implementation of gender segregation. “The increase in the dimension of repression of women and the youth who are the force of change in the society and regime’s reuse of the worn out and rusty lever of ‘mal-veiling’ is simply the reaction of a moribund regime that is facing growing social protests and is unable to respond to the most fundamental needs of a fed up people due to its anti-democratic and medieval nature,” she said.
She called on Iranian women and freedom-loving youth who during the years of mullahs’ rule have constantly confronted all oppressive measures and pressures to expand their protests against these suppressive policies. Ms. Chitsaz added: “Doubtless, this misogynic and medieval regime that Iranian people call it ‘the Godfather of ISIS’ shall be toppled by these very valiant women and youth.”
