AFP: Around 200 members of Iran’s hardline Basij militia staged a fresh rally outside the French embassy in Tehran Tuesday in protest at a ban on Muslim girls wearing the headscarf in French state schools.
“France is a prison for women”, “France’s decision is against human rights,” and “French law is a disgrace,” were among the slogans heard being chanted by the crowd, brough to the dowtown diplomatic compound in buses. AFP
TEHRAN – Around 200 members of Iran’s hardline Basij militia staged a fresh rally outside the French embassy in Tehran Tuesday in protest at a ban on Muslim girls wearing the headscarf in French state schools.
“France is a prison for women”, “France’s decision is against human rights,” and “French law is a disgrace,” were among the slogans heard being chanted by the crowd, brough to the dowtown diplomatic compound in buses.
Some three-quarters of the demonstrators were women dressed in the all-enveloping black chador.
The chant of “Death to France” also featured among the more usual cries of “Death to America/Israel”.
At the end of two-hour gathering, one of the protestors read out a statement from university student Basij members demanding the French government “to accelerate annulling this inhumane and unethical law.”
The statement also warned that “if the French government continues to enforce this Satanic law”, the Basij – a volunteer branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards – would pursue legal action in “international tribunals”.
Every woman in Iran, regardless of their nationality or religion, is obliged to observe the Islamic dress code and cover their hair or face prosecution.
