“An Iranian court on Monday convicted Zeinab Mousavi for speaking against the laws and criticizing the nation’s government. ” She was punished for supporting the hijab row and challenging the nation’s suppressing laws against women through her skits. The court imprisoned the former comedian for two years.
Highlights
- Zeniab was arrested on 12 October and spent 25 days in confinement.
- Zeniab was released on bail later in November, however was found guilty on February 6, 2023.
- Zeniab’s crime was announced and she was sentenced for 2 years in the prison in February 2023.
Who is Zeniab Mousavi ?
Zeniab was arrested in the central city of Qom on October 12 after she poked fun at the country’s strict and oppressing laws against women. Mousavi broke down several obstacles to become the nation’s first female stand-up comic and achieved widespread acclaim and notoriety.
Zeniab is popularly known as “Empress of Kuzco” and has a massive following on the social media platform Instagram and often used her account to criticize Iran’s rules of compulsory hijab for women irrespective of their choice.
She said during an interview that “Being a female standup comedian in Iran is like competing in a swimming competition whilst you are three metres behind the starting line and your hands and legs are tied, Considering Iranian cultural and social norms, doing standup here is by itself really difficult, and doing it as a female comedian is even harder.”
Zeniab also explains how she is surrounded by threats from multiple people online and from authorities offline after her video. She said “these are bitter times for me because I get threats of being attacked by acid, or they want to run me over or do harm to me, I get sworn at. I’m under pressure.”
What was Zeniab’s crime ?
Zeniab’s small appearance on the recent television show sparked anger among the Islamic heads and the majority led to her arrest. Her online identity was a spoof of an elderly peasant with a headscarf that covers everything but her nose. It was a sly parody of the mediaeval standards for women’s appearance set by Islam’s most chauvinist males.The nation has been in upheaval since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died in police custody after being detained for not donning the hijab, which led to Mousavi’s arrest and conviction.
The judicial system sentenced demonstrators to harsh punishments, including the death penalty. A rising number of Iranian women, even famous ones, have been spotted in public without the country’s obligatory headscarf since the outbreak of the countrywide protests. Authorities have either detained some people or sentenced them to prison.
What is Hijab Row?
According to the laws of the Islamic Republic nation, all women and girls over the age of 9 must should conceal their hair with a headscarf while in public and wear loose-fitting trousers under their coats. This is what led to massive outrage and widespread protest in Iran. Approximately 18200 individuals, including journalists, attorneys, professors, students, and civil rights activists, have been detained since the start of the national rallies.
It all began when Where is she? (“Where is the girl of Enghelab Street” in Persian) was a trending hashtag on social media on December 27, 2017, after images and videos of Movahed waving her scarf appeared. Initially unknown, the mother was apprehended on the scene with her 19-month-old child.
Source: Outlook
The protesters were gradually arrested and sentenced. But things went out of control when women who were detained died in police custody. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian lady, was slain by police violence on September 16, 2022, while being held by the Guidance Patrol in Tehran.
Amini’s passing ignited a wave of anti-hijab demonstrations across the nation and in many parts of the world.In Tehran on September 20, 2022, amid the Iranian demonstrations that followed Mahsa Amini’s passing, 16-year-old Nika Shakarami (Persian: ) vanished. Ten days later, her family was told of her passing. She had passed away under mysterious circumstances, maybe due to a security force assault.
Conclusion
Zeinab’s silently wanted to participate and support and thousands of protesters who were cutting their hair, and burning the hijab in solidarity with every woman who died seeking justice and freedom against the misogyny and cruel authorities of the country.