Dust Storms, House of Cinema, Student Protests, Defying Dress Restrictions

This week the Baghdad talks stole the spotlight from a number of significant human rights and civil society news stories in Iran.

Fewer clerics in parliament

The new parliament officially began operation on the 27^th of May in Tehran.

According to 24onlinenewsthe number of parliamentarians who are clerics has dropped “to an extent that after 32 years of the Islamic Republic’s victory, a comprehensive research must address all aspects of this change.” The report adds “the first parliament had 153 seats given to clerics, the number plummeted to 44 MPs in the eighth parliament and, now, in the ninth round of Majlis there are 27 legislators who are clerics.” (Historical numbers may vary. For more information on Iran’s electoral system read the report Duality by Design (pdf) from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems – IFES)

House of Cinema re-opened, then re-closed

Protesting the re-opening of House of Cinema.

Later in the week, many found hope in reports that the Iranian Alliance of Motion Picture Guilds (House of Cinema), which was ordered closed last year, would be allowed to re-open. The chairperson of House of Cimena’s management board announced that the organization “will resume its operation as of today 7^th of Khordad (27^th of May)” Farhad Tohidi added, “The first meeting of the board of the managing board was held after five months.” Mr. Tohidi insisted, “the administrative justice bureau has nullified the decree of the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance [on the closure of the organization].”

Not everybody agreed. A small group gathered in front of the House of Cinema to demonstrate discontent with the reopening of the guild. Holding placards that read, among other things, “Down with BBC documentary producers” and “Doubt when the enemy praises you” they sprayed paint over House of Cinema’s door plaque.

Finally, in the last hours of Sunday, the head of the administrative tribunal announced the verdict for liquidation of House of Cinema “still valid and in effect.”

Fars News Agency, which is aligned with the Revolutionary Guards, quotes the verdict issued by the “Cultural centers affairs committee” of the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance that dismisses any possibility for the resumption of the House of Cinema’s activities. The verdict reads [in translation], “the activities of the so-called association of House of Cinema, is void of any legal legitimacy. In the case that it resumes any unlawful activity, it shall be liable to legal counter measures.”

For now, the Iranian House of Cinema remains closed with black paint sprayed over its gold plaque at its entrance.

Amnesty International Report 2012: Iranian crackdown continued

The new “The state of the world human rights report” for 2012 by Amnesty International has been released.

Amnesty International points to the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran and highlights the following:

• Religious and ethnic minorities discrimination in law, and, in the case of the Baha’i minority, persecution.
• Government control of the media,
• Suppression of protests against government
• Threat to freedom of expression on the Internet
• Enthusiasm in use of death penalty

Three out of four prisoners of conscience on anti-depressants 

The Kaleme opposition website has posted a report based on information obtained from the families of prisoners of conscience currently held at “Rajaie Shahr Prison” just outside Tehran. According to the report, “three out of four inmates at Rajaie Shahr are on strong tranquilizers and anti-depressants.” The report adds that guards have intensified physical abuse of the prisoners and just last week “seven prisoners passed away, one of whom was a prisoner of conscience.” The families explain “closed doors, 2×2 meter rooms, and brief exposure to fresh air have contributed to depression and addiction among inmates. Some inmates use both anti-depressants and narcotics simultaneously.”

“Women Studies” becomes “Women’s rights in Islam”

The post-graduate program of “Women Studies” will be changed to “Women’s rights in Islam” according to a report by Tehran’s Shargh newspaper. The report states, “the measure is considered the first act of Islamicization of humanities and social sciences in Iran. The decision dubbed as ‘immediately effective’ was made by the Special Council of Development and Advancement of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Islamic Republic’s High Council of Cultural Revolution.”

Chairperson of the council, Gholam Ali Hadad Adel, stated that the prevalent global trend in women’s studies was in direct conflict with Islam. “Unfortunately, in the past, the subject was copied without investigation and criticism in our universities.”

Tehran air “still unhealthy”

Dust and pollution combine to create hazardous conditions in parts of Iran

Hamshahri newspaper reports that Tehran’s air quality remains unhealthy. The wave of pollution has reportedly spread to other provinces in Iran, and air quality in Lorestan province has deteriorated to an extent that “air pollution has now reached 18 times the permitted amount.”

In Mazandaran: Student’s death ignites unrest

Saham News reports that students have staged protests following the death of an accomplished Master’s student at Mazandaran University. The student lacked funds for emergency surgery and university officials took no action to save his life. The report states four student activists were arrested and five banned from entering the campus as a result of the protests. Others have been summoned for interrogation by security forces.

An updated report from Daneshjoo news stated that as of the 24th of May, 20 students had been blacklisted as a result of the protests.

After streets, “campaign against bad hijab” reaches parks and mountains

Young woman being led away by morals police

Last week we reported on the national re-launch of the so-called “moral security” project. The campaign has now gone beyond streets and reached mountains and parks as well. (Both links contain photo reports of instances of what the Iranian moral police deem as indecent clothes and “bad hijab” in parks and mountains.)

The Forbidden City

While the Moral Security project is executed with full force, the Iranian-Swedish artist, Hoda Rostami, challenges the treatment of her peers through the lens of her camera. Rostami’s collection of photographs from Tehran shows Iranian women freed from imposed hijab in current day-to-day situations. In an article on Tehran Review, the artist describes the motivation for her work:

“My street photography soon turned into my concern for myself and others around me in a city and country that I loved, [so] I depicted it in another way, as I liked it to be. This collection is more of a manifest and an expression of words that appear to have been forbidden for years in this city.”

Photo by Hoda Rostami