In this episode of "We’ve Got Issues" Nancy Furness speaks with Nahid Ghani who has a PhD in Iranian Studies. She was born in Iran and chose to come to Canada as it provides a safe and fair environment, especially for women. In her conversation with Furness, she explains the difficult lot of women in Iran.

With a large Iranian population in the Lower Mainland, concerns for the plight of Iranian woman run high among Iranian immigrants and Canadians alike, particularly with the current protests creating large tensions in Iran.

Iranian women had more freedom due to a modern Westernized life under the Shah pre-revolution in 1979. Now, women are considered to be property of a male guardian who makes decisions on everything including travel, divorce, child custody, education and work. Smaller towns tend to be more conservative.

Everything in Iran changed after the Revolution in 1979 when Sharia law came into effect. A girl can now be married at the age of 9 years, instead of 18. A woman is worth half the value of a man with respect to testimony, injury or life. Under Sharia law, women must cover themselves with a hijab or chadour, except for hands, feet and face when outside the home.

Morality (Hijab) police can stop, arrest and flog women regardless of how they are dressed. They are usually detained overnight in a specialized detention centre until family pay bail. Hijab police have an intimidating appearance with a heavy beard.

Nahid taught University classes where the police confronted her regarding teaching males and females in the same class. She recalls being very frightened to see the special police when she was 14 years old, wearing nail-polish. Nahid was arrested for being in a car with her husband before they were married.

Not all boys are brought up in support of the system. Children just want to be happy, but even in all-girl school rules are very strict. Children, women and men are all now traumatized and suffering.

Recently, the Hijab police apprehended and assaulted Masa Amini, a young woman from Kurdistan who came to Tehran to see her brother. Her brother begging them not to as they were new to the city. Her death sparked world-wide protests.

There is a collective awareness of freedom due to pre-revolutionary memory and social media. Grassroots protests against the regime’s brutality and control have occurred for many years. Iranians need Canadian to pressure the government stop engaging with the regime and to put the infiltrating Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the list of terrorists.