Dhe Iranian police found themselves in need of explanations because a police officer grabbed a woman’s buttocks during the nationwide protests. The incident, which other protesters videotaped and shared on social media, caused outrage across the country. The police initially tried to portray the video as a recording manipulated by opponents of the regime, but ultimately had to admit the incident. The case is now being investigated, it said in a press release, according to media reports on Saturday.
The attack is said to have happened this week in the north of the capital Tehran. The video shows that the police want to arrest a protester. However, she vehemently resisted. One of the police officers then grabbed the woman’s buttocks.
People reacted outraged on social media and asked how the police of an Islamic state could commit such an immoral and sexist attack. The demonstrator was finally able to get free with the help of other demonstrators.
The regime’s PR campaign fails
A PR campaign on Vali Asr Square in central Tehran was just as embarrassing for the system. A huge advertising banner with pictures of 50 important women should recognize their achievements for the country. From the point of view of the critics, however, the actual goal was to show that the Islamic Republic was not misogynistic.
But shortly thereafter, some of the women — as well as the families of the deceased — demanded that their images be removed. The system has no right to use these people for propaganda without permission in order to undermine the women’s movement against discrimination. After the embarrassing PR disaster, those responsible had to remove the banner and replace it with an imageless poster.
Protests continue
Despite the violent crackdown by security forces against demonstrators in Iran, numerous people again protested against the country’s leadership on Saturday. In Tehran, Isfahan and Kermanshah, among others, people took to the streets, according to videos from the online channel 1500tasvir and the Norwegian-based human rights organization Hengaw.
According to 1500tasvir, young women at a college in Tehran shouted “freedom, freedom, freedom” while waving their headscarves in the air. The online channel, which documents protests and police attacks, also reported on striking shopkeepers in Kurdistan Province and western Azerbaijan.
According to Hengaw, schoolgirls in Ney village, Mariwan province, started their protests by “setting fires and chanting anti-government slogans”. According to online monitor NetBlocks, protesters were spotted on the streets of the northwestern city of Ardabil in videos shared on Twitter. Footage distributed online also showed demonstrating students at universities in Tehran, Isfahan and Kermanshah.