Passed out on the subway
16-year-old Iranian woman is in a coma after an incident with moral police
October 3rd, 2023, 9:50 p.m
In Iran, a 16-year-old student was taken to hospital after an incident in the Tehran subway. The girl is said to have clashed with the notorious moral guardians. Videos of the incident suggest that she may not have been wearing a headscarf.
In Iran, a 16-year-old student was taken to hospital after an incident at Tehran’s Shohada subway station. Human rights organizations such as the Norway-based organization “Hengaw” spoke of an incident with the notorious moral watchdogs in the country. The trigger is said to have been a violation of the headscarf requirement. Armita Garawand is in a coma under tightened security conditions and not even family members are allowed to visit her.
Iranian authorities, however, said Garawand had fainted in the subway because of “low blood pressure” – there was no confrontation with security forces. According to the reform-oriented newspaper “Schargh”, a journalist working for them who was researching the case was temporarily arrested on Monday. She is now at large again.
A video purporting to show the incident was circulated on online networks. It shows how a girl, who is apparently not wearing a head covering, is pushed into the subway by policewomen. According to the exiled news portal IranWire, Garawand suffered a head injury in the confrontation.
According to the state news agency Irna, Tehran subway director Masud Dorosti spoke of “rumors” – and dismissed them as unfounded. In recent weeks, the authorities in Iran have increased pressure on women to follow strict clothing regulations – including the hijab, the Islamic headscarf required in Iran.
Since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, the authorities in the country have been paying increased attention to possible reasons for protests. Amini’s death after her arrest by the moral police for allegedly wearing a headscarf improperly sparked weeks of protests against Tehran last fall.