Iran Interview: Repression, Protest, and the Women's Movement (Abbasgholizadeh)

Semira Nikou, writing for Tehran Bureau, interviews Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, the founder of the Stop Stoning to Death Campaign and the Iranian Women's Charter, former editor of Zanan (Women) Magazine, and director of Entesharat-e Banoo (Banoo Publications) and Entesharat-e Jamee Iranian (Iranian Society Publication). She is currently a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy.

What is the status of female political prisoners in Iran?

Human rights organizations have reported around 300 female political prisoners since the Green Movement's emergence two years ago. The accuracy of this statistic is uncertain since some women have chosen not to publicize their arrests.

We know that around 80 women's rights activists have been arrested since 2009. At least 34 are still in prison. Examples include student activist Bahareh Hedayat, journalist Jila Baniyaghoub, and human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. Others have been temporarily released but are still waiting for their final verdicts.

Extended prison sentences and/or punishments are an issue. Before the 2009 presidential election, prison sentences were usually less than three months--a worst case scenario being two years of house arrest. But since the election, the same crimes have been punished with years of imprisonment and the number of people arrested has increased. Currently, the shortest prison sentence has been six years. Baniyaghoub, for example, has been banned from pursuing journalism for 30 years.

Circumstances in Evin Prison are also dire. All 34 women reside in one room. They have to sleep on the floor. Before the Green Movement, prison standards were far better--higher quality of food, sanitary environment, warm clothes, more living space, etc. Now, that is not the case.

On what grounds have female political prisoners been arrested?

They have been accused of being a threat to national security. The regime targets activists from all spheres who can in some way keep social movements alive. The regime does not want the Green Movement to benefit from any other movements. The regime has always targeted women's rights activists but the rate greatly increased after the emergence of the Green Movement.

Women were at the forefront of the 2009 demonstrations that produced the Green Movement. What is the current status of the women's movement two years later?

Since Iran's 2009 presidential election, the women's movement has focused on the status of female political prisoners and the daily government crackdowns. Women's rights activists have broadened their human rights efforts. They are pursuing their cases not just in Iranian courts, but also in the international arena in their attempt to confront state violence with non-violence.

These activists simultaneously continue to battle gender inequalities, which are getting worse. Inequalities still exist in family laws favoring men, gender segregation in universities, and the exclusion of women from educational opportunities.

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