Mahla Daryaei (who prefers to use the name Ahoo in her life), best known for her protest against the regime by taking off her clothes on the campus of Tehran's Islamic Azad University on Saturday, November 2, was referred to the Iranian Psychiatric Hospital under the label “mentally ill”. Daryaei's protest was followed by a revolt against the oppression of the misogynist regime.  

 

According to reports, Daryaei, who refused to wear the mandatory veil, was harassed on the day of the incident, first by the Revolutionary Guards' Besij forces and then by the security guards of the university where she was studying. Daryaei was forcibly taken to the security room by the guards with whom she had an argument over her attire, and when she resisted, her upper clothes were forcibly removed and she was left half-naked. In reaction to this humiliating behavior, Daryaei took off her pants and threw them at the officers. Daryaei, who was left in her underwear, then walked around the campus protesting the masculine mentality and the system. While the university administration claimed that Daryaei, who was detained, “suffered from severe mental and psychological problems,” the regime's media's attempts to distort the truth were frustrated by women activists and Daryaei's friends. 

 

Journalist Pune Aştiyani spoke to our agency on the subject. 

 

'A SYMBOL OF STRUGGLE'

 

“State media attributed Ahoo's protest to her mental disorder, but many social media users and women's rights activists interpreted it as a courageous protest against the forced hijab and restrictions imposed on Iranian women,” Aştiyani said, recalling that Daryaei was arrested for her protest and then transferred to a psychiatric hospital. Aştiyani said Ahoo's protest is a symbol of Iranian women's struggle to achieve equal rights and basic freedoms. 

 

Stating that Daryaei is a symbol of change, Aştiyani said: “Ahoo's action can be said to be a symbol of deep social changes and the active role of women in the fight against unjust laws and restrictions. Her action means standing up against injustice and oppression and shows that Iranian women are stepping forward to realize their rights with greater courage and awareness than in the past.”

 

'JIN, JIYAN, AZADI MOVEMENT ENCOURAGED'

 

Stating that even the most basic rights of women in the country are being taken away from them, Aştiyani said that one of the protests that have influenced Iranian women recently was the “Jin, jiyan, azadi” (Women, life, freedom) protests that lasted for months after the murder of Jîna Emînî. 

“The Jin, jiyan, azadî movement became one of the inspiring movements in Iranian society and encouraged many women to resist and protest. This movement, which started in the Kurdish regions, emphasized that women's rights and social freedoms are of fundamental importance and that justice cannot be achieved in society without their fulfillment. Therefore, the courageous presence of women in daily protests and resistances is a reflection of the continuous and dynamic effort to achieve individual and social freedoms. They are using every opportunity to have their say,” Aştiyani said.   

 

MA / Berivan Kutlu