Girls beat up Iran cleric over dress code

[Lord Zentei]

Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- They may be a far cry from their Western counterparts fighting for the acceptance to breast-feed -- or go topless -- in public, but two girls clobbered a cleric recently in a small town in Iran when he admonished one of them to cover herself more completely.

The cleric said he asked "politely," but the girl's angry reaction and some pugilistic double-teaming with her friend landed the holy man in the hospital, according to an account Monday in the semiofficial Mehr News Agency.

Hojatoleslam Ali Beheshti said he encountered the girls on his way to the mosque in the village of Shahmirzad for noon prayers in late August.

Women's bodies: The public perception of private parts

He told one of the girls to cover up, the report said.

"She responded by telling me to cover my eyes, which was very insulting to me," Beheshti said. So he asked her a second time to cover up and also to put a lid on what he felt was verbal abuse.

She hit the man of the cloth, and he hit the ground.

"I don't remember what happened after that," he said. "I just felt her kicks and heard her insults."

Beheshti, who emerged from the infirmary three days later, said he did not file a complaint against the girls.

But he doesn't mind the local prosecutor's investigation into the matter either "as long as the case helps the cause of Islamic hijab."

The girls may have put the "jab" into "hijab," but fighting with morality police or private individuals telling women to cover up is rare in small towns. It's more common in larger cities, where women are more likely to take a stand.

I wasn't aware that this kind of thing apparently happens in larger cities in Iran (and now in smaller towns). I guess you can only push people so far.

[Zaune]

What goes around comes around.

[Sidewinder]

The poetic justice in this, is quite delicious.

He told one of the girls to cover up, the report said.

"She responded by telling me to cover my eyes, which was very insulting to me," Beheshti said.

Dear religious fundamentalists:

If you find something insulting, take the girl's advice, and cover your eyes. Go live in a cave if it helps. Just LEAVE US ALONE.

[LadyTevar]

I am sure this "man of the cloth" is paraphrasing his exact words in the article. I'll bet he was very insulting himself.

BTW: did you know a Muslim admitting being beaten up by women is like saying he's not enough of a man to stop them? LOL

[gigabytelord]

I know it's not particularly helpful but the main thing that came to my mind about this was a very cliche and overused phrase that I personally feel is appropriate.

YOU GO GIRL/S!

Since that's out of the way now, I wonder what will happen to Girl/s in question? Iran isn't exactly a bastion of peace, love and religious freedom right now.

[Ahriman238]

I'm not planning on cheering for the beating of anyone (well, maybe a couple of specific people) particularly where I don't know that this cleric has ever personally done something wrong. Is it likely that there's more to the story then he says? Yes, most likely, because most people do not respond to being asked twice more-or-less politely to do something. I'd still like to hear from the other side, get an idea of how much of an ass he was likely being, before I decide a beating was justified.

[Tiriol]

If that story is true, then the cleric did act in poor taste and tried to curtail those girls' liberty ebcause he objected it on his very narrow moral grounds. Very similar to what many fundamentalists and conservatives do all over the world, unfortunately. However, if the story is indeed true, I cannot condone beating up this cleric. That said, I imagine that the girls would have a very different story to tell. However, based on the information so far I don't find particular mirth in people beating other people up. Girls are free to express themselves as they want; the cleric has the same right of expression (although I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the cleric actually tried to assault the girls or do something similar and they defended themselves).

[Blayne]

In this specific case it isn't just on narrow moral grounds, its also the law of the land; in a country where (I'm not 100% sure) squads of young male vigilantes might have ganged up and beaten them on the pretext of them not covering up, there are reasons to be concerned.

[CJvR]

The cleric said he asked "politely,"

Oh I do wonder what his definition of that is...

[Zixinus]

This is a sad story. Don't get me wrong, the priest is an asshole for telling the girls to cover up (what is most likely) a body part of her that is exposed for anything but sexual reasons (for all we know, it might be just her face or arm or something). However, that the situation descended into violence is troubling. If the priest was the one that instigated the violence in one way or another, then it tells of a story where a priest plays the victim. If not, that means that these women are so silenced in social context that their only recourse for protest was physical violence.

Either way, I'd expect a follow-up story (or not) where we hear that these two girls will be punished far beyond necessary for what they done. If this story landed so far through the language barrier, these two girls will suddenly find themselves at the attention of a lot of religious fanatics who want to make an example.

In this specific case it isn't just on narrow moral grounds, its also the law of the land; in a country where (I'm not 100% sure) squads of young male vigilantes might have ganged up and beaten them on the pretext of them not covering up, there are reasons to be concerned.

That sounds reasonable somewhat, but do you have proof of this? Enforcing moral standards is not what I would expect to hear groups of young males going vigilante doing. Rather, it sounds like the opposite likely to happen, namely the boys raping the women.

Though, just because these groups exist does not completely save the priest: just because the place was rural (by some definition), does not mean that it is an area where these groups are present. Or to be forceful on the remote chance that these groups would show up.

[CJvR]

He told one of the girls to cover up, the report said.

"She responded by telling me to cover my eyes, which was very insulting to me," Beheshti said.

Reminded me of this old Danish cartoon...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33608932@N00/96102736/