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Iranwire – Four members of an Iranian women’s advocacy NGO have been summoned to Evin Prosecutor’s Office in Tehran to begin prison sentences.
Nahid Shaghaghi, Akram Nasirian, Maryam Mohammadi and Esrin Derkale, active members of the grassroots Iranian Women’s Call Association, received the summons on Friday.
Each was sentenced to four months and two years in prison after being convicted by the Revolutionary Court of a string of charges including “propaganda against the regime”, “colluding against national security” and not wearing hijab.
Their respective sentences was later reduced to two years, three months on appeal. The women were summoned to Evin Prison despite having paid bail, which they suspect the judiciary has sought to overturn without informing them.
In a statement published on Instagram, the four wrote: “While we are imprisoned, mafiosis and embezzlers who have endangered the lives of millions of people remain free.
“We have only sought to be a voice of protest over the pain of discrimination against Iranian women. In the diction of thieves and dictators, defence of equality is interpreted as a crime. Nevertheless, no prison walls can silence the call for women’s equality.”
Iranian Women’s Call promotes the empowerment of disadvantaged Iranian women, including through literacy classes and public advocacy.
The summonses come at a time of a renewed, aggressive crackdown on women’s civil, political and reproductive rights in Iran, based on a 119-page policy document sent to government organizations by the Headquarters for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
