Sexual violence in Iran: on social networks, Internet users are breaking the silence

Text by: Sara Saidi Follow

5 mins

For several days, Iranians, women and men, have denounced cases of rape committed in particular by personalities. These denunciations have already led to the arrest, Tuesday, August 25, of one of the alleged rapists. 

Publicity

"  Let's not be silent  ", "  rape  ", "  sexual harassment  " are the hashtags most used by Iranian internet users in recent days. Many women - but also men - denounce the sexual violence they suffered as students or when they were children: “  You talk a lot about rape, but there is a lot going on in this city : rape children forced to work, rape during military service, rape at work, rape of transgender people and many other cases which are not exposed and whose pain remains forever…  ”, writes one Internet user . 

"  I'm a boy, I don't have a lot of followers, I know my voice won't be heard, but every time we tell a rape story, I tremble when I remember what happened to me happened when I was a child. I'm talking about a religion teacher who raped me  , ”another recounts in a long“ thread  ”.

This mass denunciation movement, unprecedented in the Islamic Republic of Iran, recalls the testimony campaigns launched with the hashtag #metoo in the United States from 2007 and #BalanceTonPorc in France in 2017. The names of public figures have thus been revealed. Artists, writers, and especially a former bookseller whose name has been massively retweeted by Internet users. 

The time for omerta is over

According to numerous accounts, this man would have invited students to his home and made them drink alcohol before drugging and raping them. “  Today I searched for KA on Instagram and realized that I had blocked him before. I looked at the private messages and remembered that it was this man I had been suspicious of five years ago because of his messages. Apparently he was running after everyone, luckily I blocked him at that time,  ”says a user .

Another calls for her side to break the silence: “  Two infamous rapists who call themselves artists have integrated into the group of the faculty of arts and theater and raped many women. I do not know how to write it but know that the time of the omerta against those who are not ashamed is over. Look up the hashtags, read them, retweet them and don't shut up,  ”she adds .

"  We can see a difference in attitude and a disposition of society to listen to women, to be more open [...]", says Tara Sepehri Far, Iran researcher in the Middle East and Africa division. North of Human Rights Watch. "  It's encouraging to see that even without formal education and despite all the legal complications, women feel strong enough to speak up and take this risk,  " she says.

" Alleged victims "

But there is still a long way to go to completely break the taboo. Birdarzani, an Iranian feminist group that works to educate Iranians about gender equality and women's rights, returns in a long article on the difficulty victims face in filing a complaint, due to Iranian laws that mostly discriminate against them. women: "  Women who were assaulted by KA say they did not dare to go to legal institutions because they went to a man of their own accord and drank alcohol  », Specifies the group.

Indeed, relationships outside marriage as well as the consumption of alcohol are prohibited in Iran. "  How in this case, denounce without acknowledging having drunk alcohol  ", ask some. According to Tara Sepehri Far, in Iran, the woman is presumed to be a victim until she proves that violence has been used. Thus, in 2014, Reyaneh Jabbari was sentenced to death and executed for having killed her alleged attacker in self-defense.

In addition, in Iran, those convicted of rape are sentenced to the death penalty, which increases the burden on the victim. "  If a person denounces the person who raped them, they will have to manage the family and the legal system, but also most certainly condemn someone to death,  " explains Tara Sepehri Far.

The power of social media

On Tuesday, August 25, Tehran police announced the arrest of one of the suspected attackers . General Hossein Rahimi, commander of the Tehran police, asked the victims to come and file a complaint, ensuring them the protection of their identities.

This is the second time in a few months that the pressure exerted on the social has an impact on the decisions of the regime: “  It shows the power of social networks  , rejoices Tara Sepehri Far,  but we must keep in mind that the individual questioned was the one whose name came up the most and the one least connected to power. It will be interesting to see if the justice system also reacts to those whose social status is high or who are connected in one way or another to power,  ”the researcher nevertheless qualifies. 

►Also read: Unprecedented mobilization against the death penalty in Iran

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• Iran
• Womens rights
• Women

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