
Iranian Teenage Girl Dies After Clash With Morality Police
Share, donate, and speak up to support women's rights in Iran.
Updated Oct. 30, 2023, 2:00 p.m. EST
- Armita Geravand, the teenage girl who has been in a coma since being knocked unconscious after not wearing a hijab on her way to school, has died, according to state media.
- Geravand's death is reigniting the protests against Iran's mandatory hijab law, which also led to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September.
- New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran wrote:
"Armita's voice has been forever silenced, preventing us from hearing her story. Yet we do know that in a climate where Iranian authorities severely penalize women and girls for not adhering to the state's forced-hijab law, Armita courageously appeared in public without one. As long as the Iranian government enforces its draconian mandatory hijab law, the lives of girls and women in Iran will hang in the balance, vulnerable to severe rights violations, including violence and even death."
What's the story?
- On Sunday, Iranian 16-year-old Armita Geravand was knocked unconscious on the train on her way to school while not wearing a hijab.
- Geravand is in a coma, being watched by security guards at a military hospital in Tehran.
- The 16-year-old's situation is being compared to the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old who died in custody of the morality police last year after not wearing a hijab. Activists are outraged, believing the government's hijab agents harmed both young women.
What happened to Geravand?
- Released security footage from the train station shows Geravand stepping onto the subway car and, moments later, being dragged out unconscious and laid on the train platform. The government has not released footage from inside the train car, which would reveal what happened to the teenager.
- Journalist Farzad Seifikaran interviewed four people close to the matter who said Geravand and two of her friends, who also were not wearing hijabs, were arguing with morality officers. One agent pushed Geravand, and she fell and hit her head, triggering cerebral hemorrhaging.
- The government is claiming she fainted due to a drop in blood sugar. Masoud Dorosti, head of the Tehran Metro Operating Company, told Iranian news media that footage inside the train did not show signs of verbal or physical confrontations.
- State news agency IRNA released a video of Armita's parents pushing the same narrative. The pair have been described as looking "shellshocked."
- Mohsen Borhani, a lawyer in Tehran, wrote on X:
"Transparency means all the security agents leave Fajr Air Force Hospital and surrounding areas and journalists be allowed to report on what happened to the 16-year-old girl."
Iranian hijab laws
- Iran created a mandatory dress code requiring all women to wear a headscarf and loose-fitting clothing in public following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The revolution caused the end of the monarchy and led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
- The morality police — formally known as Gasht-e Ershad, or Guidance Patrols — ensure that women conform to the authorities' interpretation of "proper" clothing. Officers stop and assess women for how much hair is showing, how close-fitting or short their clothing is, and their use of make-up. If an officer believes a woman is violating the rule, the punishment can include a fine, prison, or flogging.
- Iranians have protested hijab laws and the morality police on a number of occasions in recent years, giving rise to movements including My Stealthy Freedom, White Wednesdays, and Girls of Revolution Street.
Share, donate, and speak up to support women's rights in Iran.
-Jamie Epstein & Josh Herman
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Unfortunately not much can be done by the US or international organizations. I'm not sure that the Nobel Prize helps them personally or Iran though it makes us feel better.
It may even hurt recipients, of which there have been 2 now, with the most recent in prison, and suffering from government retaliation for the reward. I hope world recognition gives them some solace after being separated from families and being retaliation targets (financially, professionally, physically) along with their family members.
"The Islamic Republic government rules a country where two of its women, both defenders of human rights, have now won the Nobel Peace Prize. Before Narges Mohammadi, who is now incarcerated in Tehran’s Evin Prison, Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and children rights activist, received this prize in 2003. Since then, the Islamic Republic has done everything it could to take revenge against her."
"At the time, it was assumed that the Nobel Peace Prize would provide some degree of protection for this world-renowned lawyer who had been repeatedly harassed for accepting to represent plaintiffs in cases such as the Chain Murders of dissidents and the 1999 attack on a university dormitory in Tehran. But the Islamic Republic was determined to take revenge against her."
"Immediately after receiving the Nobel prize, the authorities increased their pressure on Shirin Ebadi, but this harassment reached new heights after the disputed 2009 presidential election."
"Ebadi’s refusal to heed this warning resulted in pressures on her husband Javad Tavassolian."
"Three days after the arrest of Ebadi’s husband, he was sentenced to death by stoning on the charge of “adultery.” Then Tavassolian’s handler, a man by the name of Mahmoudi, told him that the only way to escape execution was to read a text in front of a camera that portrayed Ebadi as a foreign agent and her Nobel prize as a tool for bringing down the Islamic Republic."
"Tavassolian, who became a broken-down man after his arrest, interrogations, trial and imprisonment, accepted the ultimatum, and an appeals court replaced the death sentence with a fine of 100,000 tomans."
"The forced confessions of Javad Tavassolian was finally aired on state-run TV on June 11, 2010, the day before the first anniversary of the disputed 2009 presidential election. In the “interview,” he accused his wife of "carrying out orders from abroad" and of having played a role in organizing the post-election demonstrations. Repeating what the interrogators had told him to say, he even accused his wife of not respecting “human rights” at home during their long marriage: “In our home, she did not even respect the human rights of four people. Once she broke my glasses and at another time she tore my shirt. She attacked and beat me.”
"The program ended with Tavassolian announcing that he wanted to separate from Ebadi unless she returned to Iran and expressed remorse for her actions. The couple had married in 1975 but agreed to a divorce to save Tavassolian."
"In December 2009, Dr. Nooshin Ebadi, Shirin Ebadi’s sister, was kept in custody for 17 days during which she was pressured to sever her relations with the activist; otherwise, she was told she would be dismissed from her university job."
"The government confiscated and sold two properties belonging to Ebadi after the Ministry of Science announced that the Nobel Peace Prize is not a scientific prize. And, even though she was no longer living in Iran, she was banned from leaving the country if she returned because she had refused to pay her taxes. The government also confiscated her Nobel Peace Prize and other awards she had received from her bank box."
"Now, after 20 years, another Iranian woman and human rights activist, Narges Mohammadi, won the same prize and the reactions of the Islamic Republic’s officials to this event are similar to those following Ebadi’s awarding."
"the Islamic Republic is going to treat Mohammadi the same way it treated Ebadi, with a notable difference: Mohammadi is already their captive in Evin Prison."
https://iranwire.com/en/politics/121345-the-islamic-republics-revenge-against-irans-first-nobel-prize-winner/
It is not what is on any ones head that is important.
It is what is in their head !!!!
They kill people I Iran over head covering, in Russia you are kill for protest, it could be you with out democracy!
Witnesses have testified they saw a chador-clad female hijab enforcer push Armita and she was conscious before she fell. CCTV footage has not been publicly released but it has been reported that 100 secs are missing. The false claim that she fainted from low blood sugar was a statement made by the parents under duress, and possibly her mother was arrested though the government denied this claim, The Ministry of Education has threatened her teachers over social media activity. Few independent newspapers still operate.
"A witness claimed that soon after Armita entered the carriage a female hijab enforcer started arguing with her because she wasn’t wearing a headscarf. “The chador-clad woman screamed at her asking her why was she not covered,” the witness told the Guardian. “Armita then told her ‘Do I ask you to remove your headscarf? Why are you asking me to wear one?’ Their argument then turned violent. The hijab enforcer started physically attacking Armita and … violently pushed her....Another witness said Armita was still conscious when she fell on the ground. Witnesses claimed they spotted the same hijab enforcer waiting behind the ambulance that took Armita"
"State news has not carried any footage from inside the train itself and offered no explanation on why it hadn’t been released. Most train cars on the Tehran metro have multiple CCTV cameras, which are viewable by security personnel. Opposition figures say the clock on the footage shows at least 100 seconds is missing."
"Iran’s few remaining independent newspapers, under ever heavier censorship, have not reported extensively on what happened, but Etemaad, a reformist paper, challenged the government to explain why reporters were being prevented from carrying out their constitutional duty to seek the truth."
"A trade union for teachers said in a statement on Wednesday that the ministry of education’s security director had visited Armita’s school and threatened her teachers. “He emphasised that sharing any news or photos of Armita Geravand on social media by her teachers would result in heavy fines and the immediate termination of their contracts,” the union said."
https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2023/10/5/iran-authorities-deny-arresting-mother-of-armita-geravand
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/05/armita-geravand-iran-cctv
HONORABLE HUMAN RIGHT OF UNITED NATION:
RESPECT-FULLY FOR YOUR: CONSIDERATION:
THEIR SHOULD NOT BEEN ANY (“OCCUPIER”)!
ILLEGITIMATE SELF ELECTED CRIMINAL VICIOUS
SO CALLED : NARCISSISTIC : SO CALLED FAKE LEADER!
TERRORIST SO CALL GOVERNING (“MASSACRE-SIT)
COMMITTING GENOCIDE IN ANY COUNTRY !
AT THIS TIME IN THIS HISTORICAL :
MOMENT IN OUR CIVILIZE WORLD!
THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO DESERVE TO BE IN JAIL AND TRY FOR :
THE CRIME : AGAINST HUMANITY BEYOND HITLER IS :
((“ISLAMIC-REPUBLIC : OF IRAN “”)!!!!!
ABOVE ALL : MINE ADVANCE !
HEART BEAT OF : PRAISE THUS GRATITUDE!
THUS REQUEST FOR : RELEASE THUS : (“FREE-DOM”)!
OF HUMAN RIGHT ACTIVIST HONORABLE MISSES:
((“NARGAS MOHAMADI “) )!!!!,
THUS: ALL THE INNOCENT CHILDREN !
OF GOD’S LOVE CREATED IN HIS OWN IMAGE :
UNJUSTLY AS RISONERS ! OF THE WAR !
AGAINST VICIOUS EVIL IN OUR WORLD!
AS ALL OF :
OUR PATRIATE IRANIAN’S : BRAVEST HERO’S !
((“UNJUSTLY IN PRISOMENT“))
BY:GREATEST SELF MADE EVIL SO DO SPEAK:
ISLAMIC SICKEST REGIM ON EARTH
TO BE : ((“FREED ONCE THUS FOR ALL”))!
WHO ARE CHERRY PICK BY:
OUT MOST WANTED CRIMINAL’S WHO ARE :
RUBING IRANIAN EMPIRE!
IN BRIGHT DAY LIGHT FROM : THE FACE OF EARTH !
THUS BE WITNESS IN THE EYES OF BEHOLDER!
HAND HELD MIRROR OF OUR LIFE! WHILE !
THESE :UNEDUCATED THEIFS THUS : THUG’S !
RUNNING IRANIAN NATION !
KEEP IT OWN PATRIOT PEOPLE HOSTAGE !
AS WELL AS OUR WORLD IS IN GREAT DANGER!
TILL FREEDOM RING UPON NATION OF :
SYRUS THE GREAT KINGDOM TO COME! MAY GOD MERCY!
THUS WISDOM UPON OUR WORLD,!
MAY GARDEN OF EVE :
PREVAIL ITS BLOSSOMS FRAGRANT OF PEACE JOY,
THUS CELEBRATION OF LIFE THUS FREEDOM !
UPON OUR ENTIRE WORLD ! ZAN ZENDEGI AZADI ,
MARD MEYHAN ABADI ,
RAIN-BOW GOD’S LOVE ,
GRACE BE YOUR’S!
RESPECT-FULLY
SHAHANEH LIMONADI STAR LIMONADI
P.S. ARMITA GRAVAND
INCIDENT. SHATTER
MINE HEART-BEAT TO :
IT’S CORE!
THESE EVIL CRIMINAL
ACT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHT
BY :TH ISLAMIC. VIGILANTISM
APARTHEID OCCUPIER PYRATE ‘S
OF:ISLAMIC REGIM MASQUES
NARCISM WILDEST AXES OF EVIL !
IS NOT THEIR FIRST - SHAME-LESS !
VICIOUS ACT AGINST HIGH MOST
INCENT CHILDREN OF GOD ‘S LOVE,
CORE OF IT’S HUMANITY,
SADLY ENOUGH IT WOULD NOT BE
THE LAST! TILL THE WORLD LEADER,
BECOME UNITED TO THE CORE!
OF :HUMAN COMPASSIONATE WISDOM
THUS : HUMANITY SENSES OF INTEGRITY,
TOPPLED THIS VICIOUS SCAM -BAG TO :
TRASH CAN OF HISTORY!
NO ONE IN THE WORLD WILL BE SAFE!
EVEN SHEILD WITH GOD’S ARMOR OF LOVE!
MAY GOD MERCY BE UPON OUR : GOD’S LOVE
GODDESS CHILDREN’S IN SYRUS THE GREAT NATION !
AS WELL AS WORLD STAGE NATION’S TO ITS CORE!
ViVA FREEDOM VIVA GODDESS VIVA GOD ‘S LOVE!
VIVA JOY THUS PEACE TO THE WORLD!
WITH EACH THUS EVERYONE IN THE-WORLD !
IN OUR : HEART-BEATS THUS PRAYERS!
This is where the Christian Nationalists are trying to take this country!
HONORABLE HUMAN RIGHT OF UNITED NATION:
RESPECT-FULLY FOR YOUR: CONSIDERATION:
THEIR SHOULD NOT BEEN ANY (“OCCUPIER”)!
ILLEGITIMATE SELF ELECTED CRIMINAL VICIOUS
SO CALLED : NARCISSISTIC : SO CALLED FAKE LEADER!
TERRORIST SO CALL GOVERNING (“MASSACRE-SIT)
COMMITTING GENOCIDE IN ANY COUNTRY !
AT THIS TIME IN THIS HISTORICAL :
MOMENT IN OUR CIVILIZE WORLD!
THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO DESERVE TO BE IN JAIL AND TRY FOR :
THE CRIME : AGAINST HUMANITY BEYOND HITLER IS :
((“ISLAMIC-REPUBLIC : OF IRAN “”)!!!!!
ABOVE ALL : MINE ADVANCE !
HEART BEAT OF : PRAISE THUS GRATITUDE!
THUS REQUEST FOR : RELEASE THUS : (“FREE-DOM”)!
OF HUMAN RIGHT ACTIVIST HONORABLE MISSES:
((“NARGAS MOHAMADI “) )!!!!,
THUS: ALL THE INNOCENT CHILDREN !
OF GOD’S LOVE CREATED IN HIS OWN IMAGE :
UNJUSTLY AS RISONERS ! OF THE WAR !
AGAINST VICIOUS EVIL IN OUR WORLD!
AS ALL OF :
OUR PATRIATE IRANIAN’S : BRAVEST HERO’S !
((“UNJUSTLY IN PRISOMENT“))
BY:GREATEST SELF MADE EVIL SO DO SPEAK:
ISLAMIC SICKEST REGIM ON EARTH
TO BE : ((“FREED ONCE THUS FOR ALL”))!
WHO ARE CHERRY PICK BY:
OUT MOST WANTED CRIMINAL’S WHO ARE :
RUBING IRANIAN EMPIRE!
IN BRIGHT DAY LIGHT FROM : THE FACE OF EARTH !
THUS BE WITNESS IN THE EYES OF BEHOLDER!
HAND HELD MIRROR OF OUR LIFE! WHILE !
THESE :UNEDUCATED THEIFS THUS : THUG’S !
RUNNING IRANIAN NATION !
KEEP IT OWN PATRIOT PEOPLE HOSTAGE !
AS WELL AS OUR WORLD IS IN GREAT DANGER!
TILL FREEDOM RING UPON NATION OF :
SYRUS THE GREAT KINGDOM TO COME! MAY GOD MERCY!
THUS WISDOM UPON OUR WORLD,!
MAY GARDEN OF EVE :
PREVAIL ITS BLOSSOMS FRAGRANT OF PEACE JOY,
THUS CELEBRATION OF LIFE THUS FREEDOM !
UPON OUR ENTIRE WORLD ! ZAN ZENDEGI AZADI ,
MARD MEYHAN ABADI ,
RAIN-BOW GOD’S LOVE ,
GRACE BE YOUR’S!
RESPECT-FULLY
SHAHANEH LIMONADI STAR LIMONADI
P.S. ARMITA GRAVAND
INCIDENT. SHATTER
MINE HEART-BEAT TO :
IT’S CORE!
THESE EVIL CRIMINAL
ACT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHT
BY :TH ISLAMIC. VIGILANTISM
APARTHEID OCCUPIER PYRATE ‘S
OF:ISLAMIC REGIM MASQUES
NARCISM WILDEST AXES OF EVIL !
IS NOT THEIR FIRST - SHAME-LESS !
VICIOUS ACT AGINST HIGH MOST
INCENT CHILDREN OF GOD ‘S LOVE,
CORE OF IT’S HUMANITY,
SADLY ENOUGH IT WOULD NOT BE
THE LAST! TILL THE WORLD LEADER,
BECOME UNITED TO THE CORE!
OF :HUMAN COMPASSIONATE WISDOM
THUS : HUMANITY SENSES OF INTEGRITY,
TOPPLED THIS VICIOUS SCAM -BAG TO :
TRASH CAN OF HISTORY!
NO ONE IN THE WORLD WILL BE SAFE!
EVEN SHEILD WITH GOD’S ARMOR OF LOVE!
MAY GOD MERCY BE UPON OUR : GOD’S LOVE
GODDESS CHILDREN’S IN SYRUS THE GREAT NATION !
AS WELL AS WORLD STAGE NATION’S TO ITS CORE!
ViVA FREEDOM VIVA GODDESS VIVA GOD ‘S LOVE!
VIVA JOY THUS PEACE TO THE WORLD!
WITH EACH THUS EVERYONE IN THE-WORLD !
IN OUR : HEART-BEATS THUS PRAYERS!
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE GLOW IN THE GLOBE,
Just more atrocities against women by the Iranian government.
We must continue speaking out and calling for human rights protections in Iran.
Meanwhile, Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Iranian female journalist, has won the Nobel Peace Prize!
I'm sure the Iranian government doesn't care, but the world is watching.