Hundreds of Women Protest Sex Discrimination in Iran - New York Times

Hundreds of Women Protest Sex Discrimination in Iran - New York Times: "TEHRAN, June 12 - Hundreds of women staged an unauthorized demonstration in Tehran today, protesting sex discrimination under Iran's Islamic leadership just days before the June 17 presidential elections.
The protest was the first public display of dissent by women since the 1979 revolution, when the new regime enforced obligatory veiling. 'We are women, we are the children of this land, but we have no rights,' they chanted. More than 250 marched outside Tehran University, and about 200 others demonstrated two blocks away after hundreds of riot police swarmed in and barred them from joining the main protest.
There were reports that the police clubbed several women, though there were no hospital reports of injuries. Demonstrators said they saw some women being detained and dragged away by officers. But the situation appeared to stabilize, and after about an hour of demonstrating, the women disbanded without further incident.
'We will continue such protests because it shows that women are aware of their rights,' said Roohi Afzal, 52, a translator who was at the protest. 'It seems that our presence today really hurts the government, that it has deployed so many forces. Maybe it will react and respond to our demands.' "