이란 여성들의 목소리 (Iranian Women Speak Up)

사라 아메드

 

이란에서는 바람에 머리카락을 날리게 두면 범죄를 저지르는 것이다!! 당신이 여성이라면 그러하다! 말도 안되는 일이다! 그렇지 않은가? 그러나 이란 당국은 그렇게 생각하지 않는다!

 

이란의 여성에게는 가장 기본적인 권리조차 금지되어 있어서, 원하는대로 옷을 입거나, 발언하거나, 자신을 방어하거나, 가부장적 체제에 반대하는 말 한마디도 할 수 없다! 남성이라면 누구나 당신의 복장이 부적절하다고 여기거나 히잡을 쓰지 않은 것을 보고 당신을 경찰서에 데려갈 수 있다! 그 남성이 낯선 사람이라도 상관없다.

 

이란 정부 당국이 마흐사 아미니에게 저지른 범죄가 알려진 후 이란에서 시위가 폭발한 주요 이유 중 하나가 이것이다.  마흐사 아미니는 폭력적으로 경찰서로 연행되어 감금당하고 모든 인권을 침해당한 끝에 심한 구타로 사망에 이르렀다. 여성들이 거리로 나가 자신의 권리를 외치게 만든 불꽃이 되었고, 마침내 사람들은 수년간의 여성에 대한 억압과 극단적인 차별에 진저리를 치게 되었다.

 

2022년 9월 21일 이란 시위ⓒ게티이미지

시작부터 끝까지

 

이란의 전국적인 시위는 2022년 9월 마흐사 아미니라는 소녀의 죽음으로 촉발되었다. 그녀는 수십 년 동안 여성에게 부과된 엄격한 복장 규정을 위반했다는 이유로, 히잡을 제대로 착용하지 않았다는 혐의로 체포되었다. 마흐사는 가족과 함께 있다가 테헤란의 길거리에서 체포되었다. 도덕경찰(Morality police)이 마흐사를 밴으로 데려갔는데, 목격자들에 따르면 마흐사는 끌려가면서 구타당했고, 심한 고문을 당했다. 체포되고 3일만에 경찰이 남동생에게 연락해서, 마흐사가 심장마비와 뇌 발작을 일으켰다고 알렸다. 그녀는 혼수상태로 구급차에 실려 병원으로 이송되었다. 그녀의 남동생은 그녀의 얼굴이 부어 오르고 몸과 다리가 모두 검푸른 멍으로 덮여 있었다고 말했다. 그녀는 뇌사로 인한 심장 마비로 2022년 9월 16일에 사망했다. 당국은 그녀에게 건강 문제가 있었다고 주장했지만 가족은 그런 사실이 없다고 부인했다. 경찰은 마흐사 아미니를 연행하면서 태운 밴 내부에 설치된 감시 카메라 영상은 물론이고 경찰서 내부의 카메라 영상도 가족에게 보여주기를 거부했고, 그녀가 경찰을 향해 걸어가다 쓰러지는 흐릿한 영상만 공개했다. 그녀의 아버지는 이 영상이 거짓이며 경찰이 조작한 것이라고 신고했다.

 

마흐사 아미니가 사망한 후 수천 명의 이란인들이 정부에 항의하며 거리로 쏟아져 나왔다.  시위대는 1979년 이란 혁명이 시작된 이래로 수년 동안 겪어온 억압과 폭력에 지친 나머지 "여성, 생명, 자유"라는 구호를 외쳤다. 이란 혁명 이후 정부는 9세부터 모든 여성이 반드시 히잡을 착용하도록 의무화했다. 이란 형법에 따르면, 복장 규정을 위반하고 히잡을 적절히 착용하지 않은 채 거리에 나오는 여성은 체포되어 10일에서 2개월 사이의 징역형을 선고받고 벌금을 내야 하며, 74대의 채찍질 형을 선고한다고 명시되어 있다. 이 복장 규정을 지키지 않는 여성은 도덕 경찰에게 모욕을 당하고 구금되고, 벌금을 내고, 채찍질을 당한다. 시위가 전국적으로 확산되고 권리와 자유를 위해 일어서는 이란 여성들의 모습이 담긴 영상이 전 세계로 퍼지자, 이란 당국은 시위대에 대한 무관용 정책을 발표하여 여성에게 히잡을 벗도록 부추기는 사람은 부패 및 성매매 선동죄로 10년 징역형에 처할 것이라고 선언했다. 원래 복장 규정 위반 여성에게는 2개월의 징역형을 법에 명시되어 있었다.

 

시위대는 거리에서 "독재자에게 죽음을", "카메네이에게 죽음을"이라고 외쳤고, 여성들은 히잡을 벗어 흔들어대고 일부 시위대는 히잡을 불태우기도 했다. 이란 정부는 2019년 이래 최대 규모의 시위를 진압하는 과정에서 시위대를 향해 잔혹한 방법을 사용했다. 이란 보안군은 시위대를 향해 실탄을 사용했다. 9월 21일, 국제 앰네스티는 경찰이 쏜 총에 어린이 3명을 포함해 시위대 19명이 사망했다고 보고했다. 당국은 야당 지도자들을 표적으로 삼아 체포하고 대부분 암살했다. 시위는 학교와 대학으로 확산되었고, 보안 요원들이 자유와 권리를 위해 항의하고 투쟁하는 소녀들을 구석에 몰아넣고 발포했다. 이미 빼곡히 가득 찬 감옥에 수천 명의 시위대가 구금되었다. 이 시위대 중에는 인권 운동가, 언론인, 변호사도 있었다. 다수의 공인들이 여권을 압수당하고 여행 금지령까지 내려졌다.

 

이란 당국은 어린 소녀들을 잔인하게 살해하고도 그 사실을 부정하고 있다. 니카 샤카라미(Nika Shakarami), 사리나 이스마일자데(Sarina Ismaeilzadeh), 아스라 파나히(Asra Panahi )가 그들 중 일부이다. 유가족들은 국영 TV에서 사랑하는 사람이 '자살'을 시도했거나 '지병'이 있어 사망했다고 고백하도록 강요당했다. 보고서에 따르면 2022년 9월 14일 이후 아르다빌(Ardabil), 자헤단(Zahedan), 라슈트(Rasht), 마샤드(Mashhad), 테헤란(Tehran) 및 기타 도시에서 350명 이상이 사망한 것으로 나타났다.  국제 앰네스티에 따르면 시위 도중 체포된 어린이들에게도 폭력이 가해졌다.

 

이란 보안군은 12살 정도의 어린 시위대를 상대로 끔찍한 고문 행위를 저질렀으며, 고문에는 구타, 채찍질, 전기 충격, 성희롱, 심지어 강간까지 포함되었다. "그들은 저를 매달았고, 제 손이 찢어질 것 같았어요. 호스 파이프로 강간했기 때문에 그들이 원하는 것을 말하지 않을 수 없었어요. 그들이 제 손을 잡고 강제로 지문을 찍게 했습니다."라고 보안군에게 체포된 어린 소년이 어머니에게 말했다. 또 다른 소년은 "그들은 우리에게 알을 낳을 때까지 30분 동안 닭 소리를 내라고 했고, 1시간 동안 팔굽혀펴기를 시켰고, 30명을 5인용 철창에 넣었습니다"라고 회상했다. "그들은 우리에게 전기 충격을 주고, 총 뒤쪽으로 얼굴을 때리고, 등에 전기 충격을 주고, 몽둥이로 발과 등, 손을 구타했습니다. 그들은 우리가 누구에게라도 말하면 우리를 다시 구금하고 더 심한 짓을 하고 시체를 가족에게 전달하겠다고 협박했습니다." 또 다른 아동 구금자의 증언이다.

 

9월 25일, 이브라힘 라이시 이란 대통령은 이번 시위를 폭동으로 규정하고 국가 안보에 반대하는 세력에 단호하게 대처하겠다고 선언했다. 그는 거리에 더 많은 경찰을 배치하여 시위대를 체포하고 구타하고 심지어 총을 쏠 수 있는 권한을 부여하여 시위대를 탄압하고 행진을 막았다. 그들은 이번 폭동이 모두 이란의 평화를 위협하려는 미국과 이스라엘의 음모 때문이며, 체포되거나 살해된 시위대는 모두 간첩이라고 주장했다. 이란 당국은 여론의 확산을 막기 위해 전국적으로 거의 모든 인터넷 접속을 차단했으며, 활동가들이 운동을 조직하는 것을 막기 위해 모바일 네트워크까지 차단했다. 이란 정부는 사람들에게 시위대에 맞서 거리로 나가라고 선동했고, 시위 초기에는 이란의 나이 많은 여성과 남성이 시위대를 막으려는 모습을 담은 영상이 많았지만 시위대의 목소리와 요구가 높아지자 이들 대부분은 경찰을 상대로 시위대를 방어하기 시작했으며, 이 사람들이 시위대를 보호하고 도덕 경찰로부터 탈출을 돕는 모습을 담은 다른 많은 영상이 퍼져 나갔다.

 

체제 전환을 요구하는 이란 시위ⓒ게티이미지

히잡 착용 의무화에 반대하는 시위로 시작되었지만, 이란의 소녀와 여성들은 다른 차별적인 법에 항의하며 자유와 권리를 얻기 위한 전면적인 변화를 요구하고 있다. 이란 정부는 여성을 억압하고 모든 기본 권리를 박탈하고 여성의 경제적 어려움을 해결하기보다는 어린 나이에 결혼하도록 촉구한다. 민법에 따르면 여성은 13 세, 남성은 15 세에 결혼할 수 있으며, 아내에 관한 모든 권한을 남편에게 부여하여 여성이 학업을 계속하거나 일하지 못하게 한다. 이 때문에 여성을 보호하고 학대를 방지하는 법이 존재하지 않는 상황에서 여성 폭력 사례가 더 많이 발생하고 있다. 이란에서는 부부 강간도 합법이다. 남편의 권리라는 개념으로 아내는 남편에게 강간을 당해도 정의를 요구할 수 없다. 이란 법은 또한 결혼하지 않은 강간 피해자가 '간통' 또는 '부도덕한 행동'과 같은 범죄로 기소되어 사형에 처해질 수 있는 반면, 강간범은 다수의 목격자의 증언이 있어야만 유죄 판결을 받기 때문에 강간 사건의 80% 이상이 신고되지 않는다.

 

지금 시위는

 

사건이 발생한 지 10개월이 지난 현재, 폭동으로 구금, 체포, 기소, 유죄 판결을 받은 시위대에 관한 공식적인 데이터는 아직 공개되지 않았다. 그러나 히잡을 쓰지 않고 복장 규정을 준수하지 않았다는 이유로 여전히 괴롭힘과 수치심을 당하고 있는 소녀와 여성에 대한 보고가 계속 나오고 있으며, 그들의 가족은 위협을 받고 있지만 저항을 멈추지 않을 것이다.

인권 단체에 따르면 수십 명의 어린이를 포함해 500명 이상의 시위대가 사망하고 수백 명이 부상을 입었으며, 당국은 2만 명 이상의 활동가를 체포 및 구금하고 공정한 재판을 하지 않았으며 심지어 7명을 처형했다. 10월 말 체포되어 6년 3개월의 징역형을 선고받은 유명한 인물 중 한 명은 이란의 래퍼 투마즈 살레히(33세)입니다. 그는 자신의 노래와 뮤직비디오에서 이란 정부를 비판했으며, 한 동영상에서 랩으로 이렇게 말했다: "바람에 머리카락을 휘날리며 춤을 추는 것이 누군가에게는 범죄였다"

정부의 탄압으로 3월 말 시위의 기세는 주춤해졌지만 완전히 수그러들지는 않을 것이다. 거리 시위는 강도를 낮춰 계속될 것이며, 활동가들은 당국을 계속 압박할 다른 전략을 모색하고 있다. 그러나 당국이 논란의 여지가 있는 주요 조치를 취하면 시위는 다시 빠르게 점화될 수 있다. 또한 일부 노동 단체도 시위대와 연대하기 위해 파업을 시작했지만 이슬람 혁명수비대가 국가 경제의 상당 부분을 통제하고 있기 때문에 그 효과는 제한적이다.

정부는 여전히 탄압을 멈추지 않고 있으며, 경비대는 여전히 실탄을 사용하고 있으며, 당국은 활동가들이 지지세력을 규합하지 못하도록 인터넷 사용에 대한 제한을 강화했다. 활동가들을 재판에 회부하고 사형을 선고함으로써 공포를 심어주는 정부의 전술은 단기적으로는 시위 운동을 얼어붙게 만드는 눈에 띄는 효과를 가져왔지만, 언제까지 성공할지, 시위대가 언제 다시 거리에 불을 붙일지는 아무도 모른다.

시위대는 단순히 자신의 목소리를 냈다는 이유로 기본권이 침해당할까 걱정하지 않고 자유롭게 살 수 있는 나라를 위해 싸우고 있다. 전 세계 모든 사람들이 시위대, 특히 이란 여성과 소녀들과 연대해야 한다. 소셜 미디어에 글을 올리는 것은 작은 행동이 얼마나 큰 결과를 가져올지 모를 만큼 큰 영향을 미친다.

이란 여성들은 보다 정의롭고 공평한 세계 질서를 꿈꾸는 전세계 남반구 지도자들의 지지를 받을 자격이 있다. 이란 정부는 멈추지 않을 것이며 지금은 이란 정부와 협상할 때가 아니다. 전 세계는 이란 국민들의 국가적 의지를 구별하기 위해 집중적으로 접근해야 한다. 여성의 권리와 자유를 지키기 위한 시위로 시작된 시위가 이란 국민 모두의 권리를 요구하는 시위로 발전한 만큼, 전 세계는 이란 국민들의 목소리에 귀를 기울여야 한다.

 

*아래 영어 원문을 웹진 <파> 편집위원회에서 한국어로 번역하여 싣습니다.

 

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Letting your hair blow in the wind is a crime in Iran if you are a woman!! Absurd! Right? Well it is not the case for the Iranian authorities!

Women in Iran are forbidden of their simplest rights, you are not allowed to dress to your liking, to speak up, to defend yourself, or to even utter a word against the patriarchal regime! Any man, even a stranger, is allowed to take you to the police station if he sees your dress as non-convenient or if he sees you not wearing the hijab!

This was one of the major reasons why protests blew up in Iran, after the crime that the authorities done in the case of Mahsa Amini, violently taking her to the police station, imprisoning her and violating all her human rights, leading to her death after the severe beating.

This was the spark that women needed to go out on the streets and scream for their rights, finally people got fed up after years of suppression and apartheid against women.

 

 

The Beginning to an End

 

These nationwide protests in Iran were ignited by the death of an Iranian girl named Mahsa Amini on September 2022, she was arrested by authorities for an alleged violation – which was described as the improper wear of hijab – for them she has violated the strict dress code that they imposed on women for decades. Mahsa was arrested on the streets of Tehran where she was visiting her family, she was lead by Morality police into a van, and according to witnesses she was beaten as they took her, Mahsa was violently tortured, after 3 days of her arrest, police informed her brother that she had suffered a heart attack and brain seizure. She was taken by an ambulance, comatose to the hospital. Her brother stated that her face was swollen and her body and legs were all covered with black and blue bruises. She died on the 16th of September 2022 after she suffered a cardiac attack due to brain death. Authorities claimed that she had health problems but her family denied that she had any.

Police refused to show her family the surveillance cameras inside the van that took her to the police station and even detained the cameras inside the station, they only broadcasted a blurred video of hers where she walks towards a police man and falls down. Her father reported that this video was a lie and was fabricated by the police.

After her death, thousands of Iranians went down into the streets, protesting against the regime. Protestors screamed and chanted “Women, life, freedom”, they had been fed up by all the oppression and violence they have been subjected to throughout the years from the beginning of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. From that day on the Iranian regime mandated that women and girls must wear Hijab when they reach 9 years old.

In their Penal code, it is stated that any woman who violates the dress code and appears on the streets without wearing the proper hijab must be arrested and sentenced between 10 days to 2 months of imprisonment, pay a fine and a sentence of 74 lashes to anyone who commits a sinful act. Women who do not abide to this dress code, get harassed by the Morality Police, detained, fined and flogged.

 

 

As the protests spread nationwide and videos of Iranian women standing up for their rights and freedom spread all over the world, the Iranian authorities announced a zero – tolerance policy against the protestors and declared that even though the law states that any woman who violates the dress code should be sentenced to 2 months of imprisonment, but any other person who encourages women to take off their hijab will be sentenced to 10 years in jail under the crime of inciting corruption and prostitution.

Protestors chanted in the streets, “DEATH TO THE DICTATOR”, “DEATH TO KHAMENEI” as women took off their hijabs and waved them and some others even burnt them.

 

The Iranian regime resorted to brutality while dealing with the protestors, to supress the largest protests in Iran since 2019. The Iranian security forces used live ammunition against protestors. On September 21st, amnesty reported the death of 19 protestors including 3 children who were gunned down by police. Authorities targeted individuals who lead the opposition, they arrested them and, in most cases, they assassinated them. Protests spread in Iranian schools and universities as well, girls went down protesting and fighting for their freedom and rights, while the security officers cornered and shot them. Thousands of protestors got detained in overcrowded prisons. Among these protestors were human right activists, journalists and lawyers. They even confiscated passports and placed travel bans on many public figures. Nika Shakarami, Sarina Ismaeilzadeh, Asra Panahi are among the young girls whose brutal killings are denied by the Iranian authorities; their families were forced to confess on state-run TV that their loved ones were “suicidal” or had “pre-existing disease” that led to their deaths. Reports indicate more than 350 people have been killed since September 14, 2022 in Ardabil, Zahedan, Rasht, Mashhad, Tehran, and other cities.  Amnesty International revealed that the violence meted out to children arrested during the protests. Iranian security forces have committed horrific acts of torture against child protestors who are as young as 12 years old, the torture included beating, flogging, electric shocks, sexual harassment and even rape. “They hung me to the point that I felt my hands will rip off, I was forced to say what they wanted because they raped me with a hosepipe. They were taking my hand and forcibly making me fingerprint the papers”, a young boy who was detained by security forces told his mother. Another boy recounted “They told us to make chicken noises for half an hour- for so long that we lay eggs- they forced us to do push ups for an hour and put 30 of us in a cage for 5 people”. “They gave us electric shocks, hit me in the face with the back of the gun, gave electric shocks to my back, beat me on my feet, back and hands with batons. They threatened us that if we told anyone, they would detain us again, do even worse and deliver our corpses to our families” a testimony by another child detainee.

 

On September 25th, the Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi announced that these protests were riots and he vowed to deal decisively with anyone who opposes the country’s security. They increased the number of police officers on the streets, giving them full permission to arrest, beat and even shoot the protestors to oppress them and stop their movements. Their claims were that these riots were all due to American and Israeli conspiracy to threaten the country’s peace and that all these protestors who were arrested or killed are spies. They blocked nearly all internet access throughout the country to hinder the flow of information, even mobile networks were shut down to prevent the activists from coordinating their activities. The Iranian authorities incited people to go down on the streets against the protestors, many videos showed old Iranian women and men trying to stop the protestors at the beginning of the movements but as the protestors’ voices and demands rose up, most of these people started defending them against the police officers where many other videos were spread showing these people trying to protect the protestors and help them escape from the Morality Police.

While the protests were sparked against the mandatory use of hijab, Iranian girls and women are protesting other discriminatory laws and demand a wholesale change to achieve their freedom and rights.

 

The Iranian regime, suppresses women, depriving  them of all their fundamental rights, rather than tackling women’s economic struggles, they urge them to marry at a young age, the civil code states that girls can marry at the age of 13 and boys at the age of 15, it also gives the husband full right to do anything for his wife, preventing her from study and work which leads to more cases of violence against women without the existence of any law that protect women and prevent their abuse. Marital rape is also legal in Iran. Married women are not allowed to seek justice from their husbands if they were raped by them under the concept that this is the husband’s right. Iranian law as well deters non-marital rape victims from reporting to the authorities since they can face prosecution for crimes such as “adultery” or “immoral behavior” which could be punished by execution, whereas the accused rapists can only be convicted upon the testimony of multiple witnesses and thus more than 80 percent of rape cases go unreported.

 

 

Protests Today

 

Today, 10 months after the events, there are no official data that are publicly available regarding protestors who have been detained, arrested, charged and convicted of riots. But reports continue to emerge about girls and women who are still being harassed and shamed for not wearing the hijab and abiding to the dress code, their families are being threatened but they won’t stop.

Human rights organizations reported that over 500 protestors, including dozens of children have been killed and hundreds of others have been wounded while the authorities have arrested and detained more than twenty thousand of other activists, they do not give them fair trials and even executed seven of them. One famous figure who was arrested late October and sentenced to six years and three months in prison is an Iranian rapper called Toomaj Salehi (33 years old). He had criticized Iran’s government in his songs and music videos, he rapped in a video saying: “Someone’s crime was dancing with her hair in the wind”

 

The momentum of the protests has decreased through late March amid government crackdown, but they are unlikely to abate completely. Street demonstrations will persist at a lower intensity, activists are trying to resort to other strategies to keep up the pressure on the authorities. But these protests could quickly ignite again in response to any major controversial move by the authorities. Moreover, some labor organizations have launched strike movements to support the protestors but they are limited since the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps controls a big part of the nation’s economy.

The government still shows no backing down of their suppressive behavior, the guards are still resorting to the usage of live ammunition, authorities have imposed further restrictions on internet usage to hamper the activists’ ability to mobilize support. Their tactic of instilling fear by trying activists and sentencing them to death had some noticeable chilling effect on the protests’ movement in the near term, but no one knows how long they will succeed and when the protestors will ignite the streets once again.

These protestors are fighting for a country where they can live freely and not have to worry about their basic rights being violated simply because they chose to speak up. Everyone around the world should stand in solidarity with the protestors, especially the Iranian women and girls. Posting on social media has a great effect, when you take a small action, you don’t know how big its outcome would be.

Iranian women deserve the support from the global South Leaders who envision a more just and equitable global order. The Iranian government will not stop, and this is not a time to make deals with the regime. The world owes the Iranian people a focused approach to distinguish their national will. The world must stop and listen, because what started as a protest to defend women’s rights and freedom have evolved to protests demanding the rights of everyone in the country.