Gender Segregation in Iran Lands British Iranian Woman in Jail

    Ghoncheh Ghavami, a 25 year old British Iranian woman, was arrested and taken to Tehran's Evin jail a few days after attempting to watch a volleyball match between Iran and Italy on June 20.
    She has spent 41 days in solitary confinement, according to her family.
    Ms Ghavami went to the Azadi Stadium – which ironically means 'freedom' - with other women to protest against Iran's stricture, introduced after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, forbidding females to attend male sporting events.
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    Harsh: Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, was arrested and taken to Tehran¿s Evin jail a few days after attempting to watch a volleyball match between Iran and Italy on June 20





    Detained: Ms Ghavami was arrested after trying to watch a men's volleyball match at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran





    At first Ms Ghavami, who is studying law in London, was arrested then released, but when she went back to fetch her belongings, she was re-arrested and jailed.


    Several others involved in the demonstration were also detained.
    Her brother, 28-year-old Iman Ghavami, told ITV News: '[The family] can barely hold themselves together.
    'They are torn apart – not just my parents but my grandparents, my uncles, everybody.'
    Iran's head of police, Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam, told the Fars news agency: 'In the current conditions, the mixing of men and women in stadiums is not in the public interest.

    Protest: Social media campaigns have sprung up in a bid to pressurise Iran into releasing Ms Ghavami





    Notorious: Ms Ghavami has spent 41 days in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin prison (pictured)



    'The stance taken by religious scholars and the supreme leader remains unchanged, and as the enforcer of law, we cannot allow women to enter stadiums.'
    Social media campaigns have sprung up in a bid to pressurise Iran into releasing Ms Ghavami. There's a Facebook group dedicated to helping her and the hashtag #FreeGhonchehGhavami is being appended to Twitter posts about her plight.
    The Foreign Office said it was aware of the situation, but has little sway over Iran as it does not have official diplomatic ties with it, so it's unlikely to be able to help Ms Ghavami.
    Amnesty International UK spokesperson Neil Durkin told MailOnline: 'We're extremely worried about Ghoncheh's predicament.
    'She's been held in solitary for over a month in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison where she's been under the control of the country's Revolutionary Guards.
    'Her lawyer has had no access to her or any documents about why she's being held, though we understand she's being investigated with a view to charging her with the extremely vague offence of "propaganda against the state".
    'Ghoncheh is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately.'
    Iran's rigid enforcement of Islamic code is down to the influence of its top authority, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who this week successfully underwent prostate surgery, according to Iranian state media.




    https://www.facebook.com/FreeGhonchehGhavami?ref=ts&fref=ts

    Poor girl. This f**king sucks. It sucks when a country's politics and ridiculous habits (in this case it's not just a case of misogyny, but straight up lack of human decency) gets in the middle of cheering for a team or a sport. Let alone being arrested, but having to spend over 40 days in solitary confinement for this?

    What sucks is the lack of reaction from Britain.Nuclear powers can protect their citizens from non-nuclear powers by dipomatic means if they know how to use their advantage.

    A german newspaper is reporting about this case.


    http://www.faz.net/aktuell/spo…heh-ghavami-13206139.html


    ".....The Volleyball World federation reacted as well. The brasilian lawyer Ary S. Graca wrote a letter to iranian president of state, Hassan Rouhani, and asked him to rethink the imprisonment of the young woman. ............. He (Graca) would be delighted if the Iran applied to host the 2018 WCH. A spokes woman of the federation added that, in order to do so, the country would have to respect the values of the World federation, which includes the right of woman to participate equally in this sport.........."

    It looks like the "old guard" in thre iranian government wanted to set an example. One year prison.......


    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29869909


    "Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, was found guilty of spreading anti-regime propaganda......."

    This is infuriating. :wall: She wasn't spreading "anti-regime propaganda", she was fighting this bullshit sexism that favors the freaking "vulgar tendencies" of male Iranian fans. Outrageous.

    There is an Iranian movie, Offside, directed by Jafar Panahi (who has a lot of problems with "justice" courts in his country)
    which tells the story of Iranian girls wishing to go to the game of the national football team.


    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499537/combined


    So, unfortunately the last events are not a surprise.

    It's also possible that FIVB may eliminate them from WL...

    Gold medal - World League 2013 Prediction Game
    Bronze medal - World League 2012 Prediction Game

    kondzio, i hope so!!!!!! although the same report says the WL matches planned for teheran will go on as they have already been planned and decided.


    this is one of the reasons it is hard for me to be too enthusiastic about IRN's men's team.


    on the other hand, the players themselves are not to blame for the wacko society they live in. also, compared to saudi arabia and other gulf countries, iranian women at least have on paper the ability to play, but have you seen the IRN women's team and how they have to dress in order to play? obviously their team is terrible, having to play covered up like they are fighting ebola. and it seems they always have to play abroad because at home, i guess men couldn't attend their matches? and certainly iranian authorities don't want to allow foreign players to appear without having every square centimeter of their bodies covered up.


    so it's a very sad situation all-around. if IRN is banned or sanctioned, it's unfair for the players, but the whole society is unfair for the women and other minorities, and the majority of people who don't want to live under a religious dictatorship.


    i tell you, every day the world seems crazier and crazier… humans are such a big disappointment.