02 April 2018— A group of women staged a protest on Sunday, April 1, 2018, in the streets of Shadegan (southwestern Iran) chanting in Arabic, “I give my life for Ahwaz.”
The protest took place in step with the protests and demonstrations of thousands of Arab Iranians since Wednesday, March 28, against an offensive program insulting Iran’s Arab citizens broadcast by the state television in Nowruz holidays.
The protests have continued until late Sunday night, April 1, in Ahwaz and other cities and villages of Khuzistan.
Security forces have been dispatched from other cities and stationed in Khuzistan cities on Monday, April 2, to quell any outbreak of protests during this traditional Persian holiday on the 13th day of the New Year, called Sizdebedar. Reports from Ahwaz, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Mahshahr and other cities indicate a de facto state of curfew in most of Khuzistan cities.
At least two women have been identified among those arrested during the protests in Ahwaz on Friday, March 30, 2018.
