Iran Today: Two Baha’is Arrested in Karaj and Other News

Two Baha’is Arrested in Karaj

Karaj: November 29, 2018

On Wednesday, November 28, security agents arrested two Baha’is in Karaj near Tehran and took them to an unknown location. The two detainees have been identified as Neda Shabani and Soroush Agahi.

In recent months, Islamic Republic authorities have launched a new wave of arrests against members of the Baha’i faith, the most persecuted religious minority in Iran. Over the last two weeks, four Baha’is in Tehran — Farid Esmaili, Mahvash Edalati, Sepideh Keshavarz and Shahrzad Nazifi — have been either arrested or have been summoned to court to face arrest. Other instances of intimidation include four Baha’is being sent to prison for participating in a prayer session. And on November 18, Shahrzad Nazifi, a women’s motocross champion and coach, was arrested on unknown charges.

Disqualified for Shaking Hands with Men

Tehran: November 28, 2018

In 2016, lawyer and an environmental activist Minoo Khaleghi was elected to represent Isfahan in the parliament. But after the elections, the Guardian Council overrode the people’s vote and disqualified her. Now Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, the council’s spokesman, has announced she was disqualified because of photographs that showed her shaking hands with men. Under the laws of the Islamic Republic, men and women who are not related to one another are not allowed to touch each other.

At the time, President Rouhani’s administration and a group of parliamentarians objected to Minoo’s disqualification. Ali Motahari, the well-known representative from Tehran, said it was within the parliament’s power to accept or reject the credentials of elected representatives. In the end, however, the Guardian Council had the last word.

Kadkhodaei said the council would not publish the photographs they had used as evidence for Minoo’s disqualification. It is reported that the photographs came from Hamid Talebi, the political editor at Fars News Agency, an affiliate of the Revolutionary Guards.

344 Under-Age Marriages in One Year in One Province

Alborz: November 2018

According to recently published data, from March 2017 to March 2018, 344 girls under 14 entered into marriage in the province of Alborz. Four of the girls were under 12 years of age. A year earlier, too, 453 girls under the age of 14 were married in the same province.

Under-age marriages have become very controversial in Iran, prompted by parliament passing a bill to protect children and adolescents — and the Guardian Council’s rejection of it. Bills must be approved by the council  in order to become law, and anytime it rejects a bill it is returned to the parliament. On November 27, Masoumeh Ebtekar, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, said she was hopeful that the parliament would amend the bill “soon” and send it to the Guardian Council for approval.