The endless battle of women 2023/09/23

After the departure of North American and NATO troops from Afghanistan two years ago, and the recovery of power by the Taliban, the crushing of women's most basic rights resumed. Confinement within the domestic sphere, full coverage of the body and face outside the home, prohibition of education beyond primary school, of working in local and non-governmental organizations, and of moving freely in public spaces. This brutal forced subjugation even unleashed a serious crisis in the process of distribution and delivery of humanitarian aid that is necessary to alleviate the hardships of the general Afghan population, since women were prohibited from participating in it, despite having been In previous years, they were key players in this process, due to the knowledge they had of the needs and characteristics of their communities.

It is not surprising, then, that in these conditions, 70 percent of women in that country currently suffer from various mental problems such as anxiety, depression, fear and suicidal thoughts, as revealed in a recent report by UN Women, the International Organization for Women. Migration and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

Additional bad news is that the living conditions of Iranian women are also rapidly worsening. Although their situation is not yet comparable to that of Afghan women, the hangover derived from the intense protests over the assassination of Mahsa Amini a year ago is manifesting itself in legislative changes that further corner women. Last week I pointed out in this column some data that showed the ferocity of government repression against those who tenaciously came out for months to demonstrate in favor of changes in legislation that would free women from their condition of subjection. I also highlighted how once the protests were quelled with blood and fire, the regime proceeded to further tighten surveillance and sanctions against violators of the Islamic dress code.

To get a clearer idea about the nature of the aforementioned hardening, just look at what has been happening these days. After for years article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code indicated that the penalties for appearing in public spaces without the veil were imprisonment of between ten days to two months or paying a fine, on Wednesday the Iranian Parliament approved by 152 votes a in favor, 34 against and seven abstentions, a new law to support the family by promoting the culture of chastity and the hijab, which still requires approval from Iran's 12-member Guardian Council. This new law increases penalties for violations. It contains 70 articles which establish, among other things, that women who deviate from the Dress Code could face prison sentences of between five and ten years. It is also mentioned that those who are considered guilty of "nudism, lack of chastity, absence of hijab, improper clothing or carry out acts against decency or disturbing public order, will be subject to sixty lashes plus a prison sentence."

But that is not all. The law threatens fines and the closure of commercial establishments that receive women dressed without the required modesty on their premises. To this end, cameras are being installed to strictly monitor how clients present themselves. Company owners whose employees do not wear the veil during their work day will be banned from leaving the country. And of course, the same law imposes gender segregation in government offices, universities, hospitals and public parks.

A panel of United Nations experts has considered this new legislation as promoting a “gender apartheid” that is driving Iran's female population increasingly closer to the Taliban model of Afghanistan. A few months ago, when the popular protests were at their climax, it was thought that a positive change of course in policies regarding the treatment of women and girls in the country was imminent,

Unfortunately, the current panorama shows the opposite. The sexist claws of the ruling theocracy have been reinforced, whose misogyny reached the point of creating a favorable environment a few months ago for the emergence of individuals who were capable of poisoning girls and adolescents in their schools in order to dissuade them from attending the centers. educational. The examples of what happens to women in Afghanistan and Iran are, without a doubt, eloquent of the horrors and injustices to which the perverse use of religion leads to subjecting others and, above all, men.