Jordan – Female activists: Current situation in Iran is response to violations against women

Location: Amman-Jordan

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:04:46

Sound: natural

Source: A24 in Amman.

Restrictions: A24 subscribers

Date: 09/29/2022

Storyline:

Iran has been witnessing, for nearly two weeks, continuous protests against the killing of Mahsa Amini while she was detained by the morality police, which sparked international reactions on repression Iranian authorities practice against women.

Jordanian women’s rights activist Israa Al-Tawalbeh said in an interview with A24 that a country’s tendency to suppress women for religious, social or political reasons, is totally unacceptable. She added that the current situation in Iran has reached this point of protests because all other means and methods women resorted to have failed.

Human rights activist Nahla Momani told A24 these violations are complex and stem from discrimination against women, and the violence they are subjected to. Momani said there is media bias regarding marginalizing women’s rights issues, reinforced by absence of media presence of women, which negatively affects representation of women’s rights issues in the media.

Shotlist:

– Soundbite (Israa Al-Tawalbeh – Women’s Rights Activist):

“A country’s tendency to suppress women for religious, social or political reasons, is totally unacceptable. The current situation in Iran has reached this point because other means and methods of protest women resorted to have failed including non-revolutionary, non-sit-in, non-protest means such as writings, literature, intellectual communication and media dialogues. The state refused to listen to them, which forced them to use another method to send a message, which is protest. Absence of responses from Arab countries, means they do not care about this issue, which I believe relates to the regional distance from Iran.,Iran claims what happened to Mahsa Amini was an act of an individual, not systematic, which means it should investigate, announce the results of the investigation, and punish those accountable in the case. Only then can Iran convince neighboring countries that what happened is not a systematic political scheme.”

– Soundbite (Nahla Momani – Human Rights Activist):

“These violations are complex, as they stem from deep-rooted discrimination and violence against women. The main axes of violations usually start from the legislative side, as some countries have laws and legal texts that indicate discrimination against women. There are countries that have taken good steps towards ensuring women’s rights. There is no systematic discrimination against women in many countries, but there is insufficient protection in some countries in the Middle East. There is sometimes media bias regarding marginalizing women’s rights issues. There is a lack of media presence of women, which negatively affects representation of women’s rights issues. There are always issues more important than women’s rights, although any issues that cause women to suffer will eventually lead to general setbacks.”