Iranian teen Armita Geravand ‘brain dead’ after assault by police

In a blow to women’s rights, Armita Geravand, an Iranian teen, is brain dead after an alleged assault on the Tehran metro by female police officers. Iran’s morality police reportedly assaulted her because she was not wearing a headscarf (hijab). 

Armita Geravand, 16, encountered with female police officers over violation of the country’s hijab law. Later on, the teenager fell into a coma. She was taken to the hospital with head injuries. The state media said on Sunday that the teenager was brain dead.

What happened to Iranian teen Armita Geravand?

Iranian teen Armita Geravand’s condition was first reported on October 3 by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a Norway-based Kurdish human rights NGO. The Kurdish-focused rights group said that the teenager was critically injured because of the metro incident. At the hospital, the teenage girl was seen unconscious with a respiratory tube and bandage over her head. She was on life support. 

Iran’s state-affiliated Borna news agency reported about Armita Geravand’s condition on 11 October. According to women’s rights activists, she was assaulted by Iranian morality police over the violation of the country’s hijab law.

Earlier this month, Armita Geravand was traveling via a metro. She was not wearing a headscarf. Subsequently, she was pushed into a metro carriage by female morality police. She was “assaulted” by morality police and fell into a coma. She was taken to the hospital with “head trauma.” However, Iranian authorities said that the teenager was hospitalized due to an injury caused by low blood pressure. 

This comes a year after the Mahsa Amini case. A 22 year old Iranian-Kurdish woman died in the custody of the Iranian police on September 16 2022. She was arrested by the country’s morality police on September 13 2022 because she was wearing a loose hijab. 

Subsequently, huge protests erupted in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Schoolgirls in Iran led protests for freedom. Iranian women burned their hijabs to protest Mahsa Amini’s death. They demanded justice for Mahsa Amini. 

Oscar-winning actors also chopped off their hair in solidarity with Iranian protesters. Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche, as well as other French screen and music stars, chopped off their hair. French lawyer Richard Sedillot, who initiated the action, said that Iranian women needed support from the world.