All posts filed under: Iran’s women

Shooting of former boxing champion highlights brutality of Iran’s ‘morality police’

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It all started as a citation for an improperly worn headscarf, but the incident escalated when former Iranian boxing champion Reza Moradkhani was shot four times by Iran’s “morality police” on April 28, after they questioned his wife. The incident, which left him severely injured, adds to the long list of abuses by the morality police, known for their brutal enforcement of a strict Islamic dress code. Following the altercation with the morality police, known in Iran as the Gasht-e Ershad, Reza Moradkhani, a former member of the Iranian national boxing team and boxing champion in Asia, underwent 12 hours of surgery for his injuries and is now partially paralysed. Moradkhani and his wife, Maria Arefi, also a boxer, submitted a lawsuit against the morality police officer after the shooting, saying that they were advised: “not to go public with the story”. But in June, the court dismissed their case and the couple went to the media. READ MORE: Inside Iran’s “morality police” – women use their smartphones to fight back Suddenly the officer took out …

The real scam behind Iran’s underground female MMA fights

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On May 27, a video of what appears to be a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fight between two women began to make the rounds on Iranian social media. The match, which took place in the suburbs of Tehran, caught the attention of many. It was the first time that an underground MMA fight – forbidden for women in the Islamic Republic – was caught on tape. But according to our Observer, this video actually shows a widespread scam taking advantage of female MMA hopefuls. Just like underground female bodybuilding competitions or ballet dancing, these female MMA tournaments are kept under wraps but well known among sportsmen and journalists in Iran. Now, for the first time, a video of this phenomenon was released. The video, which according to our Observer was filmed in Shahriar, a suburb of Iran’s capital Tehran, shows two women fighting MMA-style in a boxing ring located in what seems to be a private villa. We hear two other women coaching the fighters as well as a man who advises the referee …

Some Iranian children are literally climbing mountains to access online school

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Some Iranian children are finding virtual school harder than others. Photos have recently emerged on social media of children in rural areas who literally have to climb a mountain every day to find an internet connection strong enough so that they can attend their online classes. People have been especially shocked by the image of a child who fell and was injured on his dangerous hike to access the internet. We spoke to one teacher who feels utterly helpless in the face of the situation. Iran has one of the highest Covid-19 rates in the Middle East, with more than 43,000 officially recorded deaths. However, even officials at the Ministry of Health admit that the actual number of dead is likely three or four times that number. Most schools across Iran have been closed, except for a few schools in rural areas. The Iranian government is pushing for all students to stay home and attend online classes using an application called Shad, which was developed by the Ministry of Education. However, to participate in distance …