women's rights

And the prize for Best Actress?! We’re not entirely sure…

Julien — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:57:27 +0100

Iran's International Fajr Film Festival was hosted in Tehran last week for the 26^th time. But pictures from this year's edition of the popular festival offered an unusual view of the showbiz affair. The FARS news agency blurred out the faces of female guests, making them almost unrecognisable. Our Observer for Iran, feminist Farnaz Seifi, explains why.

UPDATE (17.30 15 Feb. 08): Thanks to comments on this post, we have found photos posted by the Fars agency where actresses' faces are not blurred. The photos are part of a different set found at a seperate link. This would suggest that the agency has no consistent policy on whether or not their photographers can show the faces of female actresses.

Forty women killed in Basra for not following Islamic tradition

Julien — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:05:56 +0100

In the port of Basra, Iraq's second largest city, the walls are covered with graffiti. The message, written in red, is clear: women who wear too much make-up or do not cover your hair: you are risking your life. Too late, sadly, for some. Around forty women have already been killed for this offence in the past year. Their bodies are often found in rubbish bins, decapitated or mutilated, and accompanied by messages like ‘killed for adultery' or ‘killed for violating Islamic law'.

These crimes have shocked Iraqi bloggers. Most of them condemn the events, but they're divided over the reasons behind the atrocities. Opposed to the occupation, the blog of the Iraqi women's association asserts that the U.S. and their allies are manipulating this affair so that they can depict Iraqis as an uncivilised and violent people. ‘Treasure of Baghdad', an exiled Iraqi blogger, despairs to see Basra fall into the hands of a ‘new Taliban'. And American editor and journalist Robert Stein questions the responsibility of George Bush's government in this chaos.

Fashion crackdown intensifies: arrests captured on film

Julien — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:06:00 +0100

Material compiled by our regional editor for Iran and Afghanistan, Jay Bakht

This video was captured on a mobile phone at the Abouzar roundabout in the eastern Iranian city of Birjand. It shows two girls being arrested by the police for not covering their hair properly. The police are supposed to act like a ‘moral authority’ that protects and enforces Islamic customs in Iranian society. But they are not always official. They can approach people acting ‘inappropriately’, for example an unmarried couple holding hands or a girl with heavy make-up. Many people try to resist; as the girls in the video.

The two girls are approached by two women wearing long black “chadoors”, as the all-enveloping traditional Islamic robes are called in Iran. One of the girls can be heard saying: “Who are you? I’m not coming with you. Wait a second!” One of the women then says, “I’m a policewoman.” The girl screams, “Let me go! People! Help! Help me! God …help me…” In the background a man says: “She hasn’t committed any crime, why don’t they let her go?!”

Post your questions to Farnaz Seifi, Iranian feminist and our observer in Iran, or to Jay Bakht, our regional editor for Iran and Afghanistan.