Ghavami Released, Teenager Stabs Teacher To Death, Anti-Violence Selfie Campaign launched: News from Around Iran

This week in Iran’s provinces: British-Iranian woman Ghoncheh Ghavami freed from Iran prison; Children collect trash in Tehran streets; Iranian artist builds statue of Kobane women; Ramsar flood kills a woman; a “No Violence against Women” selfie campaign is launched; a schoolboy stabs his teacher to death; the number of miscarriages rises in Isfahan because of air pollution; a 9-year old boy is hospitalised by his teacher.

 

Ghoncheh Ghavami released on bail

Ghoncheh Ghavami, a British-Iranian woman who has been held in prison for five months after attempting to watch an international men’s volleyball match in Tehran, was released on bail due to health problems on November 23.

Ghoncheh, 25, was arrested in June in Tehran after taking part in a protest against women not being able to watch live volleyball matches.

Since her arrest, Ghoncheh has been on two hunger strikes in protest of her detention conditions.

 

“No Violence against Women” selfie campaign

The Iran Women Citizens Association (IWCA) launched the “Selfie No Violence against Women” campaign on Facebook and other social media channels to put an end to violence against women on November 25.

People were asked to join the campaign by posting selfies with the message “No Violence against Women” appended to them.

The IWCA also released a statement pronouncing the acid attacks on women in Isfahan as an act of violence on women in Iran. It argued that although the people of Iran displayed their anger by demonstrating, the authorities remained quiet and arrested only protesters rather than the acid attackers themselves.

 

Schoolboy stabbed teacher to death

A teenager stabbed his physics teacher to death while he was teaching a class on November 23.

The student was unable to attend class that day so had come in with his father to tell the headmaster but while his father was talking to him, the student slipped out of the office and ran to the classroom where Mohsen Khashkhashi, 38, was teaching. The student stabbed him in the neck, chest and stomach and then ran away.

The reason for the attack is under investigation, but according to the media in Iran, the boy rarely attended physics classes, so the teacher had asked him to bring in his parents.

 

9-year old hospitalised by teacher

Abdol Hamid Gargij, a 9-year old from Mirjava, had to be hospitalised when he sustained injuries from his teacher in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan on Sunday, November 23.

The teacher beat the student with a type of gas hose, which caused severe injuries and infection.

Iranian media reported the boy has undergone surgery but still needs another operation.

 

Children collect trash in Tehran streets

ILNA reported that children are picking up trash in the streets of Tehran on November 21, a fact confirmed by Mostafa Fayazi, the Head of the Inspection Organisation for the Tehran Municipality.

He added, “Although some of them wear official uniforms, they’re not our employees (municipality employees). They work for our contractors. Collecting dry waste is the duty of our contractors, so they’re using children to do the job.”

 

Woman dies in Ramsar flood

A 34-year old woman was killed in a flood in Ramsar in the northern province of Mazandaran on Monday, November 24.

Leila Hajian was on her way to work when the flood swept her away, reported ISNA,

The flood damaged a number of roads in the province of Mazandaran.

 

Risk of miscarriage increases in Isfahan

The number of miscarriages has increased in the city of Isfahan due to air pollution, reported the Isfahan Newspaper.

The report indicates that there were 439 miscarriages three years ago but the number peaked to 520 in 2013 and reached 332 in the first half of 2014.

The newspaper cites air pollution as the main factor behind rising abortion and infertility in young people.

 

Iranian artist creates statue in honour of “Kobane women”

Iranian artist Hadi Ziaodini built a statue depicting the women of Kobane – it is called “Shirzanan kobane,” which translates to the “brave women of Kobane are like a lion.”

Ziaodini is a Kurdish artist and built the statue to show his support for the women in Kobane fighting against the Islamic State (ISIL).

The statue is of a woman from Kobane next to a lion.