Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Iranian Lawmaker Slams Protesters; Cleric Appeals for Calm
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
September 27, 2022

Share

 

A hard-line Iranian lawmaker on Tuesday slammed female protesters who have taken off mandatory headscarves as prostitutes, doubling down on the government’s stance amid the dramatic demonstrations following the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by the country’s morality police.

The harsh language by Mahmoud Nabavian, a legislator from Tehran, was in sharp contrast to the appeal by a top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani, who on Sunday urged the government to listen to the people’s demands.

The fate of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody after being detained by the morality police — because her headscarf was allegedly too loose — has ignited unrest across Iran. Protests have have spread to at least 46 cities, including the capital of Tehran, towns and villages with scenes of violence and street clashes with security forces unseen for years in Iran.

Solidarity protests have also erupted in Europe, the United States and in parts of the Middle East. In a predominantly Kurdish city in Syria, thousands of women took to the streets Monday, holding posters with Amini’s photo.

Across Iran, ordinary women and public figures, including Iranian actresses, have removed their headscarves in protest or cut their hair in public to show solidarity with the demonstrators.

Iranian state TV has suggested that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since the demonstrations began Sept. 17. An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 13 dead, with more than 1,400 demonstrators arrested.

“These rioters are out to prostitute themselves,” the lawmaker, Mahmoud Nabavian, was quoted as saying by Fararu, a news website. He suggested that taking off the hijab, or headscarf, was akin to being naked in public to attract male attention.

Nabavian blamed both women and men taking part in the protests, saying they were guilty of “impurities” that need to be washed away.

Hamadani’s tone was starkly different.

“It is necessary for officials to listen to people’s demands and solve their problems and be sensitive to their rights,” said the senior cleric, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Meanwhile, Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi, warned public and famous figures who have openly supported the demonstrators, that they must pay for damages to public property caused by the protests.

Abbas Salehi, Iran’s minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, advised that actresses who removed their headscarves on social media posts should try to find other jobs, implying the ministry could ban them from working in their profession.

Iran has arrested at least 20 journalists since the start of the unrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said late Monday, calling on Iran to release the reporters and halt its crackdown on the media.

“Iranian authorities should be ashamed of themselves for orchestrating this brutal crackdown,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “They have proved their failure to grasp that suppressing dissenting voices only compounds dissent.”

The Syrian Kurdish-run Hawar News Agency reported on the protest in the northeastern, predominantly Kurdish region of Syria where thousands of women marched Monday in solidarity with Iranian women.

In the city of Qamishli, they held up photos of Amini and toward the end of the march several women, including an elderly one, cut off their hair, threw it to the ground, along with headscarves, and set the pile on fire.

“Long live freedom, women demand free life, revolution is in our hands,” the marchers chanted. “Women, life, freedom!”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Ukrainian Navy Says a Third of Russian Warships in the Black Sea Have Been Destroyed or Disabled

DON'T MISS

7 Lebanese and an Israeli Killed in an Exchange of Fire Along the Lebanon-Israel Border

DON'T MISS

Israel and Hamas Dig in as World Pressure Builds for Cease-Fire

DON'T MISS

Deadly Attack on Moscow Concert Hall Shakes Russian Capital and Sows Doubts About Security

DON'T MISS

UN Demands Cease-Fire in Gaza During Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan, Its 1st Demand to Halt Fighting

DON'T MISS

Israel’s Netanyahu Rebuffs US Plea to Halt Rafah Offensive. Tensions Rise Ahead of Washington Talks

DON'T MISS

Russia and China Veto US Resolution Calling for Immediate Cease-Fire in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Gaza Now the ‘Greatest Open-Air Graveyard,’ Says EU Official

DON'T MISS

During the Israel-Hamas War, Jews Will Soon Celebrate Purim — One of Their Most Joyous Holidays

DON'T MISS

Israel Blocks UNRWA Commissioner-General from Gaza, Exacerbating Humanitarian Crisis

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

11 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

11 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

11 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

12 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

12 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

13 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

13 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

16 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

16 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

9 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
9 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

11 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

11 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

11 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

11 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

11 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

12 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend