Iranian Teenager Dies After Metro Incident While Not Wearing Hijab, According to State Media

An Iranian teenage girl named Armita Geravand, who sustained injuries in an unexplained event on the Tehran Metro while not donning a hijab, has passed away, as confirmed by state media this Saturday.

Geravand’s demise follows her prolonged comatose state and comes on the heels of the one-year memorial of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old whose passing incited nationwide demonstrations.

The recent tragedy involving Geravand could potentially rekindle public unrest, especially as women continue to defy Iran’s compulsory hijab regulations as an expression of their dissatisfaction with the country’s theocratic governance.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran, based in New York, remarked, “Armita’s voice has been irrevocably silenced, depriving us of her narrative. Nonetheless, we do understand that her public appearance without a hijab occurred in a societal backdrop where the Iranian government imposes harsh penalties on females who violate the obligatory hijab code.”

The Center further noted: “As long as this stringent hijab requirement remains in force by the Iranian authorities, the well-being of Iranian women and girls is precariously compromised, making them susceptible to grave human rights abuses, including lethal violence.”

Iran’s IRNA news agency disclosed Geravand’s death but omitted any discussion on the broader societal turmoil concerning the hijab law. Geravand was injured at the Meydan-E Shohada, also known as Martyrs’ Square, Metro station in the southern part of Tehran. According to medical authorities, she experienced a severe drop in blood pressure, leading to her fall, traumatic brain injury, ongoing convulsions, reduced cerebral oxygen levels, and finally, cerebral edema, which resulted in her death.

The exact events following Geravand’s boarding of the train on October 1st remain speculative. While a friend cited her head making contact with the station platform, video footage released lacked audio and was obstructed by an onlooker. Her lifeless body was subsequently removed from the scene.

State television did not include any internal train footage and remained silent on why such footage was withheld, despite the presence of multiple CCTV cameras within Tehran Metro train cars, accessible to security officials.

Geravand’s parents stated to state media that her injuries could be attributed to a blood pressure anomaly, a fall, or a combination of both.

International activists have speculated that Geravand might have been deliberately pushed or assaulted for her noncompliance with the hijab law. They are urging a United Nations fact-finding mission to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident, referring to Iran’s history of manipulating victims’ families and airing coerced confessions.

Human rights organizations such as the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights and the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group have reiterated calls for an impartial international investigation. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of Iran Human Rights, stated, “Unless proven otherwise by an independent international investigation, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei bears personal responsibility for Armita Geravand’s death.”

This incident coincides with the redeployment of Iran’s morality police, implicated in Amini’s death, and legislative efforts to enforce even stricter penalties for non-adherence to hijab regulations. Geravand’s situation has also led to renewed international critique of Iran’s treatment of women and its compulsory hijab law.

U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Iran, Abram Paley, took to the internet to express his condolences, stating, “State-sponsored violence against females in Iran has caused tremendous suffering for numerous families both domestically and internationally.”

Amini had died on September 16, 2022, post-detainment by morality police for alleged hijab violations. Public suspicions of abuse during her arrest had led to large-scale protests, which were the most significant challenges to the Iranian theocratic administration since the 1979 revolution.

Despite the lapse in mass protests, women in Tehran continue to openly defy the mandatory hijab law. This occurs against the backdrop of Narges Mohammadi, an incarcerated Iranian activist, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her activism in the areas of women’s rights and democracy.

Simultaneously, Iran continues to grapple with international sanctions and escalating tensions with Western nations due to its advancing nuclear capabilities and support for regional militant groups.

For devout Muslim women, wearing a head covering is not merely a compliance with religious doctrine but also an act of modesty. However, in Iran, it has evolved into a potent political symbol, especially after it became obligatory post-1979 Islamic Revolution.

Currently, Iran and the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan are the only nations where hijab-wearing is mandated by law for women.

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More about Mandatory hijab law in Iran

• Iranian mandatory hijab law
• Human Rights in Iran
• Tehran Metro Incident Coverage
• Women’s Rights in Iran
• Mahsa Amini Incident
• International Reactions to Iran’s Women’s Rights Issues
• History of the Hijab in Iran
• Recent Protests in Iran
• U.S.-Iran Relations
• Nobel Peace Prize Winner Narges Mohammadi