The Iranian government's continued crackdown on non-governmental charities has dealt a further blow, resulting in the closure of the NGO safehouse Mehre Shams Afrid.
The NGO, which strives to alleviate the social and family challenges faced by women and children in Urmia, Iran's West Azerbaijan province, is an essential organization for supporting and empowering vulnerable women, but it is the latest victim of government repression. It became.
The closure is reminiscent of previous closures of Iranian NGOs such as Imam Ali's Popular Student Relief Society (IAPSRS), Qarneh Khurshid, and Omid-e-Meer Foundation, and is an embarrassment of government interference in independent philanthropy. reflects the tendency to
The NGO's CEO, Fatemeh Babakani, announced the closure on Sunday, April 28. X platformlamented, “The Mere Shams Afarid non-governmental shelter, a shelter more important than our lives, has been shut down in the worst possible way!''
in a previous interview shag Babakhani warned in a Tehran newspaper on Saturday that Iran's State Welfare Organization (SWO) in West Azerbaijan province was trying to shut down Mehre Shams Afarid. The closure came after a tense meeting on Saturday that Babahani described as “like an interrogation,” during which SWO officials scrutinized the organization's financial resources. At the same time, SWO's social emergency services intervened in the NGO safe house and transferred all the women to a social emergency facility, which she likened to a “cage”, without issuing any formal judgment or written order, she added. .
SWO officials cited financial inadequacies as the reason for the closure, but Mr Babakani refuted these claims, arguing that this was part of a wider pattern of pressure on the organization. “These words are excuses,” the Director General of the State SWO said. [West Azerbaijan] He threatened to shut down NGOs and safe houses,” Babakani retorted.
Furthermore, she revealed that the Director-General had put pressure on her, saying, “You don't wear a good hijab, you are a dissident, and you act against Sharia customs and against the regime on social media.'' The question raised was why she used the hashtag “Women, Life, Freedom.''
The closure of Mere Shams Afrid is not an isolated incident.
In 2020, Iranian security forces arrested Sharmin Meimandinejad, founder and director of Imam Ali People's Student Relief Society (IAPSRS), the country's largest anti-poverty NGO, and subsequently closed its headquarters.
Meymandinejad and his colleagues Morteza Kaymanesh and Katayon Afradze. arrested On June 21, 2020, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) intelligence agency said it had “insulted” the Islamic Republic's founder Ruhollah Khomeini and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and “acted against national security.” '' was indicted on charges.
Subsequently, the 28th Branch of the Tehran Court of Appeals upheld the decision to dissolve the IAPSRS brought by the Iranian Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Home Affairs blamed NGOs “Issuing political statements in a time of national crisis, defamation, anti-religious activities, and lack of financial transparency.”
The closure of IAPSRS faced much criticism from the Iranian public. human rights organizations who criticized the verdict.
One year after the closure of IAPSRS, Kaneh Khurshid, an NGO that supports women in southern Tehran, Iran, with drug abuse problems, closed In March 2022, following pressure from Iranian authorities.
The founders of Kaneh Khurshid, Leiri Arshad and Shavar Monshizadeh, announced that they were facing pressure from the Iranian government and were subsequently forced to suspend their activities.In an interview with HamshafriArshad said.
“They don't want NGOs to be as active as they used to be.”
Similarly, in August 2019, Omid-e-Mehr, another independent charity supporting marginalized women and girls in Tehran, forced to close According to Iranian authorities.
Furthermore, in August 2022, another NGO, Noor Sepid Hedayat Social Harm Reduction Institute, which supports women and vulnerable children with drug abuse problems in Shush, a district in southern Tehran, closed its doors. Announced. Although he did not provide details, Sepideh Alizadeh, director of Nour Sepid, announced: Instagram post“The operation of this center has been taken over,'' and the services “will be provided by another operator.''
The closure of these organizations underscores the diminishing space for independent civil society initiatives in Iran, as the Iranian government continues its crackdown on non-governmental organizations. This trend ultimately deprives society's most marginalized people, particularly women, from receiving the essential support they need.
