Acid attacks on women in Isfahan

A series of acid attacks on women in the Iranian city of Isfahan starting sometime around October 2014, raised fears and prompted rumours that the victims were targeted for not being properly veiled.[1] As of October 27, 2014, at least eight[2] such attacks have occurred in Isfahan.[2] At least one woman is dead and many more have severe burns to their faces and hands.[3]

The attacks were generally carried out by 2 unknown assailants riding together on the same motorbike. They wore helmets with visors down to hide their faces and flung acid into the faces of women who were walking or driving automobiles.[1][2] None of the perpetrators were ever found (as of July 2018), as a result the victims have been provided with blood money (“Diyah” in Farsi[4]) from the government.[5]

Known Victims

There are four named victims from the 2014 acid attacks in Isfahan.

Neda M was a young woman in Isfahan who was reportedly driving to take clothes to a friend who needed them. She pulled over to answer a call from her mother when the acid was thrown in the car window at her. She lost her sight completely in one eye and only had 30% of her sight remaining in the other eye.[6][7]

Maryam (no last name given) thought herself to be one of the early victims. She was a mother and student at the university who had gone shopping for her son’s upcoming birthday. She stated “A rider threw nearly two liters of acid through the driver’s window towards me, which affected my face, hands and my body.” [6][7]

Marziyeh Ebrahimi turned to politics and activism following the acids attack against her in Isfahan in 2014. She was featured as one of the strongest activists for Iran government passing a law against acid attacks in January 2019.[8] She has a photographer following her as she fights for laws against acid attacks to help bring publicity to the fight.[9]

Sohelia Jorkesh lost her right eye to the acid attack and has been working with medical teams in Iran and the United States to try and preserve what sight she has left in her left eye. Jorkesh has been outspoken regarding her discontent with the government of Iran, including how they failed to find the culprits behind the attacks and how they have not paid her the full amount necessary for the blood money.[4]

Motivation

While many Iranians believe the attackers are conservative Islamist vigilantes trying to intimidate women into wearing (what the vigilantes deem) modest dress,[10] Iranian officials deny this and have been called "particularly angry with any suggestion that attackers were driven by religious extremism, or that victims were targeted because they wore clothing that could be deemed inappropriate in the eyes of hardliners".[11]

Iranian liberals believe the attacks are connected to a parliamentary measure passed October 19[12] that “enjoins good and forbids wrong” by providing protection for vigilantes patrolling the streets and helping enforce the country’s strict social mores on public dress or behavior.[10][13] The government Press TV has quoted president Rouhani as warning against making “baseless accusations” against "any particular person or group before the real culprits are arrested".[14] One "semi-official" plainclothes group, Ansar-e Hezbollah, which has conducted 'morality patrols' to enforce Islamic dress in the past, blamed "the enemy" attempting to "strike a blow against security," for the acid attacks.[15]

However, according to the executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran Hadi Ghaemi, the attacks come "in the midst of a year-long verbal attack by conservative forces in Iran attacking women for their clothes,” giving “verbal warnings and calls that blood must be shed. These are not isolated incidents.”[3]

Reactions

Arrests

Iranian authorities have arrested four people suspected of throwing acid on women, according to a report by the official IRNA news agency.[16] But Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli stated that authorities don’t have sufficient evidence to charge any of the suspects in connection to the attacks.[10] As of 2018, none of the perpetators have been arrested. As a result, the government has paid blood money to the victims.[5]

Protests

Protest rallies to denounce the attacks have been held in Isfahan and the capital Tehran. Mindful of past crackdowns, however, the demonstrators generally disperse quickly when confronted by police.[2] On October 27, hundreds of Iranian security forces thwarted a planned protest in Tehran to demand tougher government action against the attacks.[10]

Government anger at media

Four journalists and a photographer from the Islamic Students' News Agency were arrested after their organization covered the attacks, according to Al-Monitor. Two of the journalists have been released, but as of October 28 the others (Zahra Mohammadi, the head of Isna’s office in Isfahan, and Sanam Farsi, its social affairs editor[11]) were reported to still be in custody.[13]

Interior Minister Fazli declared in late October that “Foreign media are exaggerating about the acid attacks.”[2] On October 28, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, Hassan Firouzabadi, said the impact of some media reports was “worse than acid attacks”.[11] Iran’s prosecutor general, Ibrahim Raeesi, has denied that the acid attacks were linked in any way to the state’s policing of morality.[11]

According to Jason Stern of the Committee to Protect Journalists, “this case deals with everything Iranian hardliners can’t stand: critical media coverage, street protests, women’s rights and government accountability.”[11]

See also

Notes
  1. "'Bad hijab' link to acid attacks on Iranian women". AFP. October 19, 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  2. Mostaghim, Ramin (27 October 2014). "Spate of acid attacks against Iranian women and girls prompts protests". LA Times. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  3. Grant, Madeline (October 27, 2014). "Iran's Rouhani Promises "Harshest Possible Sentence" for Acid Attack Perpetrators". Newsweek. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  4. "Iranian Acid Attack Victim Pursues Legal Fight Despite Claim 'Case Closed'". Voice of America. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  5. "Gov't Pays Blood Money for 2014 Isfahan Acid Attacks as Culprits Not Caught". Iran Front Page. 18 July 2018.
  6. "No Justice for Survivors of Acid Attacks in Iran". www.payvand.com. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  7. Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (2014-10-20). "Acid attacks in Isfahan have nothing to do with the hijab, say Iranian officials". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  8. "Iran Parliament Makes New Law Against Acid Attacks". RFE/RL. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  9. "Acid attack victim pushes for law banning sale of acid in Iran". The Iran Project. 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  10. Motevalli, Golnar (October 26, 2014). "Iran Plan to Boost Security to End Acid Attacks on Women". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  11. Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (28 October 2014). "Iranian journalists detained after reporting on acid attacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  12. Noack, Rick (24 October 2014). "Why President Rouhani is supporting thousands of Iranian protesters". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  13. Ioannou, Filipa (28 October 2014). "Iranian Journalists Arrested After Coverage of Acid Attacks Against Women". Slate. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  14. "Acid attacks culprits to be dealt with harshly: Rouhani". Press TV. 31 October 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  15. "Rising Acid Attacks Raise Fears About 'Morality Patrols' In Iran". Huffington Post. Reuters. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  16. VAHDAT, AMIR (October 20, 2014). "Iran arrest 4 over acid attack". Associated Press. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
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