Iran:
Behind the Veil
Radio Télévision Suisse | 14min
00:00:00,040 Asal: This is a veil, this is a piece of Islamic clothing. I bring this with me because when I’m running away from the opposite forces, I will put this on and deceive them, and show that I’m “one of them”.
00:00:18,516 VO: -Asal, 28 years old, is a doctor. She is getting ready to go and defend her rights.
00:00:23:090 Asal: These are some medications, bandages. The last one, my scarf, and we will burn this in the demonstration.
00:00:43,834 VO: -Her husband supports her, they go to all the demonstrations. For a week now, they have been filming their daily life. That of a couple entering the resistance.
00:00:56,100 Asal singing: I have a dream, a dream of freedom… The dream of a joyful dance without end…
00:01:08,515 VO: -In the car that takes them to the to the centre of Tehran, Asal sings about his thirst for freedom. A dream shared by thousands of Iranians: to overthrow the Islamic Republic in power for 43 years. Iranians everywhere have been protests for a month. In the squares burning scarves, by holding up portraits of Ayatollah Khamenei. Riots, beatings, shootings: Iran has seen it all. It all started with the death of this of this 22 year old woman, Mahsa Amini, on September 16. Arrested by the morality police at the exit of a subway because of an ill-fitting scarf. In Iran, you can die for a strand of hair.
1’53 Title – Iran: Behind the
Veil
00:01:58,050 Asal: We are on our way to a demonstration. These last four weeks, people usually gather on this street to show their protest, by honking their horns or taking off their headscarves. Let’s go.
00:02:19,053 VO: -For women, life, freedom. This song has become the anthem of revolt.
00:02:29,660 Asal: -What was the name of the young man killed because he was honking the horn?
00:02:36,238 Asal’s husband: -It was Payman Mehvari and Darius Alizadeh They were on the list of people murdered.
00:02:44,953 Asal: -Yes, Darius Alizadeh, killed just because he was honking the horn. They attacked him. No one can believe that they could kill for a horn. I think they are afraid when you honk the horn.
00:03:05,438 Asal’s husband: -Right.
00:03:15,612 Asal: -There is a lot of anger hidden in society. Everyone knew that this anger could explode. It's not just a protest. This is the beginning of a revolution to overthrow the religious dictatorship of the ayatollah.
00:03:42,565 VO: -They testify knowing they risk their lives by doing so. The people we contacted refused to take this risk. For this couple, the rage outweighs the danger.
00:03:54,533 Asal: -We agreed to film ourselves because here in Iran, no foreign journalist can actually work. And the Iranian journalists are in the service of the regime. Because of the heavy-handedness, threats and repressions, we couldn't film everything we wanted to. Everywhere, there are surveillance cameras, indicators and spies. We have to be careful. The Islamic Republic does not want any information to filter through.
00:04:34,343 Asal’s husband: -Even among our friends who participate in the protests, because of the danger it represents to record videos, the majority of our friends did not want to participate.
00:04:51,841 Protester on video: -Death to the dictator!
00:04:55,220 VO: -The windshield of their car has been hit with a baton. Asal was injured during a demonstration. They are among the "lucky ones". Thousands of people have been arrested and 224 killed. Nika, for instance was arrested on September 20th and found by her parents on October 3rd in a morgue.
00:05:21,295 Nika’s mother: -It was supposed to be your birthday today, sweetheart.
00:05:24,186 VO: -The day of her funeral, this is what his mother said.
00:05:28,136 Nika’s mother: Today we are celebrating your martyrdom, Nika!
00:05:31,126 VO: -She would have been 17 years old. Or Sarina, 15 years old, killed on September 23rd in Karaj, west of Tehran.
00:05:48,522 VO: -Three months ago, Sarina started her holidays, full of hope.
00:05:53,604 Sarina on video: -My exam just finished. I feel free. Feeling that freedom, is there anything better?
00:06:02,959 VO: -Sarina, Nika, Mahsa, these faces have became symbols of the revolution. But the list is getting longer. This brutal repression is making the world angry. In Iran, as in Switzerland, portraits are brandished, hair is cut. The slogan: "Woman, life, freedom."
00:06:26,320 Protesters: -Woman, life, liberty!
00:06:34,060 VO: -Among the organizers of the demonstration last Saturday in Geneva, Shiva, an Iranian artist who's been living in Switzerland for a few years.
00:06:41,421 Reporter: -How important is this demonstration?
00:06:44,203 Shiva: -Yes it is, to show our solidarity with the Iranians, who have been on the streets for more than 22 days, for... For their basic rights. For all the people who are dying in Iran. For… Sorry. For my friends who have been arrested or have not been heard from. For the young people, for Nika, for Sarina, for Mahsa, for Iran.
00:07:30,115 VO: -For a month now, the expats have not left their phones. Powerless, worried, spectators of 20-second videos on social networks.
00:07:38,581 Shiva to friend: -Did you see this video of the woman playing the violin without wearing her veil? Fortunately there are these small beautiful moments...
00:07:53,269 Shiva’s friend: -Asaluyeh, my opinion, took very important action. If everyone in Iran goes on strike in Iran like them, it would be great. Come on, guys. In Asaluyeh, these are the workers of the petrochemical industry.
00:08:13,130 Reporter: Why is it so difficult to show your face?
00:08:16,200 Shiva’s friend: That’s absolutely not easy because I am afraid for my family. We know that Iran has one of the spy organisations, after CIA and Mossad, Iran’s is the third or fourth. They have so many spies everywhere; they can also find your family or loved ones to threaten you to stop what you’re doing.
00:08:48,910 VO: -Shiva wants to take that risk. Iran's regime has already been shaken by protests: 2009, 2019. But to her, this time, things are different.
00:08:59,493 Shiva: -I'm sure this is the beginning of something bigger. I'm sure this regime will fall. Maybe not next week or in a month, it will take time, but this time it's different. They are not afraid in Iran. They tell me they are not afraid anymore. They are fighting against this regime. Why should I be afraid?
9’05 Shiva
00:09:32,542 VO: -Asal is one of those heroes who doesn't want to be afraid anymore. A rebel walking around without a veil in Tehran, which is forbidden.
00:09:42,281 Asal: -On days when there are no demonstrations, I go out for a walk, without the veil. To me, it's a way to show my civil disobedience. It shows that Iranian women are courageous and say no to the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
00:10:09,789 VO: -A resistance act that she even dares in supermarkets, under the bewildered eyes of other customers.
00:10:19,207 Asal: -Everything is more expensive. We can't buy anything anymore.
00:10:26,531 VO: -That's enough for her mother to worry about.
00:10:30,542 Asal: -She's fine. She is worried about us. She asked me if we were going to have a demonstration. She said to me: "You have completed your studies, you have a good future, why put your life at risk?"
00:10:46,441 Asal’s husband: -There is no difference between us and the others. All those who participate in the uprising are putting their lives in danger. We do this to build the future of our country. There is no future here, unless we immigrate. If this movement succeeds and the situation improves, our desire to leave will stop too.
00:11:17,228 VO: -At night, the protests can be heard from building to building.
00:11:23,013 Asal: -Let's listen to the people chanting "Death to the dictator".
00:11:40,873 VO: -At the sound of these slogans shouted by the inhabitants, Asal tries to help the injured from the demonstrations. There's no way for them to go to the hospitals like the one in which she works at the risk of being arrested. She treats them from a distance.
00:11:56,406 Asal: -Every night I prepare medical advice depending on the situation and I share them on Twitter, Instagram, etc.
00:12:14,375 VO: -She receives a call from a from a doctor friend that law enforcement officers have raided a laboratory treating protesters secretly.
00:12:23,279 Woman on phone: -During the demonstrations and clashes, people were going in a medical laboratory to have the pellets extract the lead bullets. The wounded were running away there and pretended that they were regular customers for analysis. The agents of the regime machine-gunned everything, then came in and closed the lab. They arrested the staff and shot everywhere. There are impacts everywhere.
00:13:01,111 VO: -Chilling stories. But Asal and Arya are returning to the streets. In Iran the movement is growing. The fight goes on.
13’33 Credits:
Béatrice Guelpa
Yves Godel
Christine Hoffet
Sébastien Fawer
Edgard Biondina