Ahwazi activists will be holding a demonstration on Saturday outside the European Commission's offices in London to bring attention to the oppression of Ahwazi women under the Iranian regime. The demonstration will begin at 1pm at 8 Storey's Gate (click here for map).
Ahwazi women suffer persecution on the basis of their ethnicity as well as their gender. Al-Ahwaz (Khuzestan), the Ahwazi Arab homeland, has more oil than the United Arab Emirates and more poverty than Palestine.
Groups representing Ahwazis are seeking to bring attention to the plight of two Ahwazi women currently imprisoned by the regime: Masouma Kaabi and Sakina Niassi. Masouma, 28, is being held in custody with her four-year-old son Aimad (both pictured above) and her mother-in-law. The women and baby have been imprisoned to punish Ahwazi political activist Habib Nabgani, Masouma's husband and Aimad's father, but Aimad is reported to have fallen ill due to poor prison conditions.
Meanwhile, 40-year-old Sakina Niasi, an imprisoned pregnant Ahwazi woman, appears to have suffered a miscarriage as a result of her treatment in prison. Her life is at risk as she is reportedly receiving little or no medical treatment.
The imprisonment of women and children is a tactic used by the regime to silence opposition among Ahwazi Arabs, who have staged a number of large anti-government demonstrations since last April's intifada when the regime lost control over parts of Khuzestan province.
Click here to download a leaflet calling for Masouma and Sakina's freedom
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keywords: ahvaz ahwaz ahwazi arabistan khuzestan khuzistan khuzestani arab arabistan iran iranian human rights security oil news ahmadinejad ethnic cleansing
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