Female Iranian Lawyer Sentenced to 38 Years in Jail & 148 Lashes

Nasrin with her Husband & Two Children
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a 55-year old female human rights lawyer from Tehran, Iran, was sentenced in March of 2019 to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes.  Her crime was fighting for the rights of oppressed women in Iran.  In June of 2018, Nasrin was arrested for speaking out in defense of Iranian women who were arrested by the regime for removing their hijabs in protest of the nations discriminatory policies toward women.  Nasrin, a renowned human rights activist who was awarded the European Union's Sakharov Prize for "Freedom of Thought" while she was serving a previous jail term for campaigning for the rights of women in her country.  

 Nasrin continued her work after she was released in 2013 until she was arrested again in June 2018, along with 7,000 other activists who openly protested the regime's discriminatory policies toward women.  For the next 8 months Nasrin was held in the infamous Evin Prison, own of the worst prisons in the entire nation, and now she may have to spend the rest of her life behind bars.  Her supportive husband was also sentenced to six years in prison, though he has yet to be formally incarcerated.  The couple have two children, that could very well become orphans if the sentences on their parents are not overturned.  
Iranian Activst Masih Alinejad Condemns Western Leaders like Swedish Minister Ann Linde for Ignoring Their Oppression.

 Many Iranian women's rights activists are not only angry at their oppressive regime, but at the indifference of Western Feminists and Leaders.  Iranian women's rights activist Masih Alinejad spoke out harshly against Western women leaders who visited Iranian Heads of State wearing the Hijab out of "solidarity with their culture."  Masih stated that this was not an act of "solidarity," but an act of submission to Iran's repression of women.  When she sees female political leaders and "feminists" wearing the hijab out of "cultural respect," Masih rightly stated that "Calling a discriminatory law as part of our culture is an insult."  The response of so many feminists in the West to the ongoing suffering of women in the Middle East dictatorships like Iran is a tragic mixture of indifference & compliance, and it's nothing short of shameful.  

 Sources:

 Magra, Iliana.  "Iranian Rights Lawyer Sentenced to 38 Years in Prison and 148 Lashes, Husband Says."  The New York Times.  March 13, 2019.  Accessed from  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/world/middleeast/nasrin-sotoudeh-iran-lawyer-lashes.html

Qiblawi, Tamara, Nada Altaher, & Sara El Sirgany.  "Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Sentenced to 38 years in Prison, Her Family Says."  CNN.  March 12, 2019.  Accessed from  https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/middleeast/iran-sotoudeh-prison-intl/index.html

Stickings, Tim.  "Iran's Women Rights Activists Condemn Western Feminists for Wearing the Hijab in 'Solidarity,' saying: 'Calling the Compulsory Headscarf my Country's Culture is Insulting.'"  DailyMail.  April 01, 2019. Accessed from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6874539/Iranian-womens-right-activist-condemns-Western-feminists.html

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