A 16-year-old girl, who was allegedly beaten by Iran’s morality police in an incident related to the country’s hijab law, has been reported brain dead. Image source: Mostafameraji via Wikimedia
A teenage girl is reported to be ‘brain dead’ after an alleged incident with the morality policy in Iran, regarding the country’s hijab law, according to state media.
Images on social media show the 16-year-old girl, Armita Geravand, unconscious in hospital and appearing to be on life support with a respiratory tube and a bandaged head. The pictures have not been verified.
Geravand’s hospitalisation was first made public by human rights groups, such as Kurdish-Iranian Hengaw.
State media have reported on the situation saying, “Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Geravand indicate that her condition of being brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff.”
The confrontation occurred on the Tehran metro on October 1, with security footage appearing to show Geravand being pulled unconscious from the train.
We now know her name. 16 year old Armita Gravand.
Reports indicate the teenager fell into the grips of hijab enforcers while on the Tehran metro 🚇 and is now in a coma at Fajr hospital.
Video shows her body being removed from the subway car. https://t.co/1K4RhZgaQH pic.twitter.com/ebdreQZX5o
— Samira Mohyeddin سمیرا (@SMohyeddin) October 3, 2023
It is believed that officers were enforcing the mandatory Islamic dress code in the metro when the incident with Geravand occurred.
She had been reported to be in a coma since the incident.
The Iranian government has denied that Geravand was injured during the incident.
According to activists, Geravand’s parents had been forbidden from posting images of her on social media, or from talking to human rights groups.
Activists have also expressed concerns that Geravand’s situation may end the same as Mahsa Amini, who’s death last year in the morality police’s custody led of months of anti-government protests across Iran.
The Iranian theocratic establishment has imposed a strict dress code for women since the revolution in the late 70s.
Iran law requires women to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes, with violators risking of fines or arrest by the morality police, in addition to public rebuke.
However more women have been appearing unveiled in public spaces, commonly in protest over Amini’s death.
