|
Widespread crackdown on women |
|
|
|
|
Monday, 23 August 2004 |
Iran Focus
A new wave of crackdown against young people, particularly girls, has been launched by the Iranian security forces in conjunction with other security services under the pretext of campaign against “symbols of public corruption” and “improper veiling.”
The security forces have been arresting young girls who did not fully observe compulsory veiling. More stringent measures have been imposed in Caspian Sea resorts in northern Iran.
Drivers playing loud music in cars or boys and girls going around in cars have been stopped by security forces on streets and many taken to detentions centers where they were beaten up and subjected to brutal punishments. A teenage boy who was taken to one of these detention centers said: “When I protested against my detention they flogged me on my back and soles of my feet in such a way that I could not stand on my feet for several days.”
Eye witnesses in Tehran reported that the security forces once again raided boutiques selling dresses in the fashionable Vanak Square area. In the raid, carried out under the pretext of countering improper veiling, the agents snatched dresses in shop windows. Shop owners who protested had their shops sealed off. In addition, the security forces were also stationed at the entrance of the shopping centers and stopped girls and boys going to the shops. |
