Hundreds Rally in Paris for Iranian Women’s Rights

A protester holds a placard as she takes part in a march on the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, arrested for allegedly violating the dress code for women at Place de la Bastille, in Paris on September 15, 2024. (AFP)
A protester holds a placard as she takes part in a march on the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, arrested for allegedly violating the dress code for women at Place de la Bastille, in Paris on September 15, 2024. (AFP)
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Hundreds Rally in Paris for Iranian Women’s Rights

A protester holds a placard as she takes part in a march on the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, arrested for allegedly violating the dress code for women at Place de la Bastille, in Paris on September 15, 2024. (AFP)
A protester holds a placard as she takes part in a march on the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, arrested for allegedly violating the dress code for women at Place de la Bastille, in Paris on September 15, 2024. (AFP)

Hundreds of people marched through Paris on Sunday in support of women's rights and the opposition in Iran, two years after the death of Mahsa Amini sparked protests against the country's religious authorities.

A 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Amini died in custody after being arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

The march, organized by around 20 human rights associations, took place as 34 women began a hunger strike in a Tehran prison to mark the two-year anniversary of her death.

Chirinne Ardakani, a Franco-Iranian lawyer and member of the "Iran Justice" collective, said that the "sacrifices" made by Iranians opposed to the regime were "not in vain".

"Everything has changed in Iran," Ardakani told AFP.

"We've gone from an absolutely patriarchal culture, where there was no question of women being able to reveal themselves in the street, to massive support for these women," the lawyer and activist added.

The march in solidarity with the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement was attended by Benjamin Briere and Louis Arnaud, two Frenchmen who were arrested and arbitrarily detained in Iran.

Iran is accused of arresting Westerners without cause and using them as bargaining chips in state-to-state negotiations, with French diplomats describing these prisoners as "state hostages".

Briere was eventually released in May 2023, while Arnaud was let go the month after.

"Yes, I was in prison, but it is an immense honor to have been able to live among you, freedom fighters, who shared my suffering," Arnaud told the crowd, in his first public address since his release.

Three other French nationals are still being held in Iran.

After Amini died in custody on September 16, 2022, the women-led protests which erupted rattled Iran's leadership that autumn and winter.

But the demonstrations were then crushed by the authorities, with rights group Amnesty International saying security forces used assault rifles and shotguns in the crackdown.

Human rights groups say at least 551 people were killed. Thousands more were arrested, according to the United Nations.



Iran's State TV Airs Footage of Esmail Qaani

FILE PHOTO: Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
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Iran's State TV Airs Footage of Esmail Qaani

FILE PHOTO: Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo

The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, Gen. Esmail Qaani, has appeared in television footage aired Tuesday by Iranian state television.

Rumors circulated for weeks over Qaani’s status in the time since an Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut’s southern suburbs in late September. But Qaani was seen in a black bomber jacket, wiping away tears at an event early Tuesday morning at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport.

While Iranian state television did not acknowledge the rumors, it made a point to film Qaani for over a minute and later share the footage from the airport ceremony online.

Qaani was on hand for the repatriation to Iran of the body of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, 58, who was killed in the Beirut airstrike.

Nilforushan’s body was flown by private plane from Beirut to Iraq for his funeral. Then the body was transferred to Iran for burial.