Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan.

Today's three stories you should know.

Apr 01, 2023

Iran

Two women have been arrested in Iran after a video went viral in which a man threw yoghurt at them, apparently angered because their hair was not covered. The country’s judiciary said the women had been detained for showing their hair in public and that the man had been arrested for disturbing public order. Speaking on television after the footage went viral, President Ebrahim Raisi underlined that wearing a hijab is a legal requirement. Growing numbers of women in Iran have been defying the law and many are now regularly seen in public without hijabs. Protests erupted after the death last year of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating hijab rules. They were violently put down by authorities.

Pakistan

Twelve people have been killed in Pakistan after a stampede at a Ramadan food and cash distribution center in the city of Karachi. Police said they arrested eight people, including the manager of the factory handling the distribution, because they did not inform local authorities that they would be giving alms during the holy month. Nine women, aged between 40 and 80, and three children, aged between 10 and 15, died in the crush, according to police. Pakistan is going through one of the worst economic crises in its history and millions of people are struggling to put food on the table.

Afghanistan

The Taliban has shut down the only women-run radio station in Afghanistan, the latest shot fired in its relentless war on women and girls. A Taliban official said the station - Sadai Banowan, which means women’s voice in Dari - was shuttered for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan. But Najia Sorosh, who heads the station, said it was a conspiracy to close the station down. The Taliban “told us that you have broadcast music. We have not broadcast any kind of music,” she said.