Latest / The Front / From Iranian jail to reporting on the Lionesses - our journo’s incredible story

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From Iranian jail to reporting on the Lionesses - our journo’s incredible story · The Front

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
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  Speaker 1: It's Tuesday, March seventeen, twenty twenty six. Working from Home
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: has a new champion. Nationals leader Matt Canavan says we
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: can only make the bush thrive by encouraging remote work.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: In January, thousands of Iranians were murdered by the country's
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: regime as they protested against its tyranny. Today, the Australians
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  Speaker 1: publishing the stories and pictures of five hundred people who
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: lost their lives fighting for freedom live now at the
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Australian dot com dot au. What fate awaits the lionesses
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  Speaker 1: who are returning to Iran. Iranian Australian journalist shukefe Azar
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  Speaker 1: is hoping for the best that the women will be
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  Speaker 1: forced into a humiliating public confession, but won't be imprisoned,
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  Speaker 1: tortured or executed. Hukafa has personal experience of how the
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  Speaker 1: Islamic Republic treats women. After several arrests and stints in
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  Speaker 1: prison in Iran, Chugafa came to Australia on a people
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  Speaker 1: smuggling vessel via Christmas Island, a path many Iranians have
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  Speaker 1: taken in their desperation to be free. Now she works
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  Speaker 1: for the Australian Chukava is here in just a moment.
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  Speaker 2: So I'm sugar Falls, Amranian journalists and also living in
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  Speaker 2: Australia since twy ten, and I'm happy to be here.
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  Speaker 1: Now. Tell me about your decision and journey to come
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  Speaker 1: to Australia, Sugar far.
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  Speaker 2: So it was an easy one because I've been arrested
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  Speaker 2: many times in the Iran. I've been in prison and
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  Speaker 2: last time when I came out of my family forced
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  Speaker 2: me actually to just live the concert. So I had
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  Speaker 2: no choice but going to Turkey and from Turkey finding
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  Speaker 2: a smuggler and then I had idea that I want
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  Speaker 2: to go to Europe or America, but I ended up
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  Speaker 2: in Australia, so I.
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  Speaker 3: Had I took five or six days both in the ocean.
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  Speaker 2: So and I remember it was October when we kid
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  Speaker 2: received to Christmas Island.
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  Speaker 3: So the whole story is traumatic and tough.
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  Speaker 1: What do you remember about that journey?
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  Speaker 2: Some details actually feded I think during the years, but yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I remember the you know, I met another refugees in Indonesia.
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  Speaker 3: I remember we being in a hotel.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know where was that anyway, four hours driving
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  Speaker 2: to a beach, and we've been in a hotel and
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  Speaker 2: the smuggler told us that don't go out of that hotel.
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  Speaker 2: So for a few days been in the hotel. And
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  Speaker 2: then after that midnight they took us by a car
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  Speaker 2: and we drove like four five hours to a bitch.
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  Speaker 3: It was very horrifying night.
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  Speaker 2: And then they suddenly I remember they stopped the car suddenly,
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  Speaker 2: and they didn't told us even so we were not
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  Speaker 2: ready for that.
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  Speaker 3: So I said go.
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  Speaker 2: Out right now, right now, and we just run out
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  Speaker 2: of the car.
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  Speaker 3: It was forest. It was so horry well.
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  Speaker 2: And remember we took the boat and then we changed
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  Speaker 2: the boat and in the middle of this ocean, day
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  Speaker 2: three or four hour, boat engine broken. And then wait
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  Speaker 2: for a fisherman. He came with his very small boat,
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  Speaker 2: and then we exchanged the boat and then we came
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  Speaker 2: to Christmas Island and it.
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  Speaker 3: Was very horrible memory. I got my refugee.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I'm a pr after seven months because I
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  Speaker 2: would prove that I am a journalist that you know,
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  Speaker 2: I had so many reports in Internet.
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  Speaker 3: They can find my reports.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we're very lucky to now have you reporting for
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  Speaker 1: us Shukafur and your reports on the Lioness's football team
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  Speaker 1: have I think brought your work to a whole new audience.
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  Speaker 1: It must be interesting or a full circle moment for
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  Speaker 1: you to now be reporting on these young women who
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  Speaker 1: are themselves claiming asylum, some of them here in Australia
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  Speaker 1: in a very tumultuous way. How does that make you
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  Speaker 1: reflect on your own journey as an asylum seeker.
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  Speaker 2: So I think you know, we women, Iranian women, all
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  Speaker 2: of us been in on their extremely you know, control
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  Speaker 2: and pressure in the last forty seven years in many
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  Speaker 2: many different ways. In the streets at a school. It's
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  Speaker 2: not just about what we wear, is about how we behave,
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  Speaker 2: what we say, what's we drink, even if that if
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  Speaker 2: it dance, if you have a boyfriend and hold their
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  Speaker 2: hands in their streets, you know, everything can cause.
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  Speaker 3: A problem for you and make you be arrested.
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  Speaker 2: So when I saw the footballers, women footballers in Australia
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  Speaker 2: and all of the pressure on them, is just reflects
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  Speaker 2: and it reminds me all of the memory I had,
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  Speaker 2: and I know that millions of Iranian women have the
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  Speaker 2: same experience of pressure and being controlled. So yes, one
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  Speaker 2: of the reasons that I want to write their stories
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  Speaker 2: about because I think we all are in the same page.
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  Speaker 1: I think Australians might not realize how common it is
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  Speaker 1: for people in Iran and women in Iran to be arrested.
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  Speaker 1: Tell me about what that encounter might be like for
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  Speaker 1: an ordinary Iranian woman like yourself or like one of
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  Speaker 1: these young women. We're talking about what happens, who arrests
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  Speaker 1: them and then where do they go.
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  Speaker 2: You know, when the Islamic Republic founded, one of the
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  Speaker 2: first things was creating moral police in the streets. So
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  Speaker 2: we had no any idea about something like that before
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  Speaker 2: this regime. So almost anything can lead to imprisonment for women.
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  Speaker 2: You know, as I said, very male police. Showing your hair,
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  Speaker 2: you know, holding your boyfriend's hand in a street, drinking, dancing, living,
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  Speaker 2: I don't know. I think even being breathing and living
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  Speaker 2: and they're having lover, attending to any protests inside the school, university, streets,
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  Speaker 2: everything can cause arrestments. So in fact, there are no
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  Speaker 2: clear laws governing these matters.
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  Speaker 3: That's the main issue.
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  Speaker 2: So when morality police vans come to a streets, they
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  Speaker 2: simply can find the excuse.
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  Speaker 3: And reason to arrest you.
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  Speaker 2: And there are huge number of forts that they rape
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  Speaker 2: women and girls inside their vans. And I remember myself
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  Speaker 2: I arrested many times, same as I think millions of
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  Speaker 2: Iranian women. We all been arrested all the time in
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  Speaker 2: the streets. So if you are lucky, and if you're arrested,
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  Speaker 2: and if you're lucky, you go to prison directly. Otherwise,
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  Speaker 2: if you're not lucky, they can transfer you to one
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  Speaker 2: of the toosands of unofficial detention sites that run by
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  Speaker 2: IORGC or Intelligence service, and they can do whatever they want,
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  Speaker 2: from rape, from physical torture, mental torture, or killing. And
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  Speaker 2: obviously none of the organizations take responsibility, and these kind
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  Speaker 2: of things happen.
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  Speaker 3: We have so many evidence about all of these matters.
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  Speaker 2: And the REGIMU so frequently uses a mental hospital as
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  Speaker 2: a form of punishment. When they rape women, they send
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  Speaker 2: them to the mental hospitals, and so the goal is
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  Speaker 2: that when they come back from mental hospitals, no one
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  Speaker 2: believe them if they say we've been raped.
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  Speaker 1: How does it make you think about Islamic law or
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  Speaker 1: the version of Islamic law that they say that they
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  Speaker 1: are policing.
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  Speaker 3: If you ask me, this is one that person.
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  Speaker 2: Islamic law, you know, shardiad law is actually shaddiad law
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  Speaker 2: is all about women's bodies, what you wear, what you do,
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  Speaker 2: how you act, what is your rights in front of
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  Speaker 2: men's and if you have any rights.
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  Speaker 3: And everything is about women's body.
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  Speaker 2: And that's why the Iranian believes that the kind of
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  Speaker 2: Islamic political Islamic that we experience in Iran are very
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  Speaker 2: close to shariat law.
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  Speaker 1: This was an Islamic revolution. It's called the Islamic Republic
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  Speaker 1: of Iran. They're called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Do
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  Speaker 1: you believe believe that this is a real interpretation of Islam?
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  Speaker 1: Or is this an excuse for men to just do
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  Speaker 1: what they want?
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  Speaker 3: You know, I don't see.
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  Speaker 2: I think this is one of our Iranian points. We
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  Speaker 2: never saw any happy Islamic country. And it's fourteen hundred
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  Speaker 2: years actually that we Iranian are fighting against compulsory Islam.
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  Speaker 2: That they came to our country first, I think fourteen
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  Speaker 2: hundred years ago. So when you read Koran, as I
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  Speaker 2: read it and in translation to make sure that what
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  Speaker 2: I understand is really true, is that there are so
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  Speaker 2: many violence in Quran. It says if your wife doesn't
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  Speaker 2: take orders from you. You ignore her first and then
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  Speaker 2: you punish her and in the end you can beat her.
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  Speaker 2: So these are in gour On, so you cannot deny it.
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  Speaker 1: When we see women being arrested and those reports make
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  Speaker 1: it to the news here in the West, like for
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  Speaker 1: example Masa Ameni, who died in the custody of the
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  Speaker 1: religious police in twenty twenty two.
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  Speaker 4: Amini had been visiting Tehran with her brother. Police say
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  Speaker 4: she was arrested for dressing him properly. She collapsed in
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  Speaker 4: custody and died several days later in hospital.
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  Speaker 1: People have taken to the streets across Iran angry at
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  Speaker 1: the government after a woman died while in police custody.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think that Iranian women are trying to be
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  Speaker 1: defiant and trying to stand up for themselves or is
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  Speaker 1: it just that you just cannot escape the attention of
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  Speaker 1: the police.
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  Speaker 2: But I think, boss, you know, what happened to Massa
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  Speaker 2: Amini happens many times before. But you know, sometimes the
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  Speaker 2: society says enough is enough. You know, that was the
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  Speaker 2: moment that the movement of Massa Amini has started. And
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  Speaker 2: all women I understand her because we all had same
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  Speaker 2: experience in all of their regime's detention from being beaten up,
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  Speaker 2: you know, being raped, being tortured in many different ways psychologically, mentally.
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  Speaker 2: And men also now understand and they also support us.
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  Speaker 2: It's not just about what we experience. Every woman has
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  Speaker 2: a family, We have a brother, father, you know, son,
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  Speaker 2: and they also understand us. They also want to change
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  Speaker 2: the same regime because it's because it's never want to
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  Speaker 2: change the regime. The political system that they never want
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  Speaker 2: to understand its own people has not any ending, but
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  Speaker 2: you know, being bringing down by the people. So I
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  Speaker 2: think that's the reason that for many years we try
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  Speaker 2: to collapse the regime, and of course we never had
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  Speaker 2: been succeed that because we are not in off Australian
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  Speaker 2: they have gone, they have, you know, everything, and we
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  Speaker 2: don't have. That's why we all wanted military supports from
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  Speaker 2: Western countries and we are very happy that now we
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  Speaker 2: have US and Israeli supports.
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  Speaker 3: Coming up.
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  Speaker 1: What Iranians really think about Israel and Americas war on
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  Speaker 1: the regime? What did you think when you saw the
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: Lionesses declining to sing the Iranian national anthem in their
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: first match in Australia.
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  Speaker 2: We understand them, and we know that they want to
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  Speaker 2: show that they don't like and they don't support the regime.
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  Speaker 3: And we hope that we could help them more.
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  Speaker 2: We knew that their family been threatened, and we knew
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  Speaker 2: that even if they stay in Australia, definitely their family
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  Speaker 2: will be tortured. And as you have also three of
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  Speaker 2: other girls they've been refuged in Australia. They also made
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  Speaker 2: decisions to return to Iran, so definitely because their family
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  Speaker 2: called them and say that we are under pressure, so
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  Speaker 2: you must back. You know, if they stayed here it
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: was good for them, but definitely their family been threatened
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: and if they go, they will fare. It's definitely the
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: threatened by the region.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: We're now a couple of weeks into Operation Epic Fury.
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  Speaker 1: The military support that, as you say, Iranian people were
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: hoping for from the West. Do you think it's offering
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  Speaker 1: any hope?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, a lot, but still no one knows how it
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  Speaker 2: will end. And Ironia are very happy inside and outside
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  Speaker 2: the country. The situation inside the you know, on and
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  Speaker 2: on their bar is very very difficult.
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  Speaker 3: They cannot find foods.
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  Speaker 2: Many of fresh food are not available, like you know,
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  Speaker 2: meat or veiges or dis kind of milk. And all
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: the time they are on their bombardment, they house shakes.
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  Speaker 3: All the time.
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  Speaker 2: If they go to show, They explain to me, if
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: they go to show, it does a quick shover, just
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: two minute shovers because they don't know, you know, next
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  Speaker 2: bombardment will take their house. They will die, you know,
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  Speaker 2: whatever happened to them. But they are very very happy.
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  Speaker 2: There are so many videos published by people inside the
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: country and they show that after each bombardment they cheer
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: and you know, they say, oh, thanks baby, thanks Trump,
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: please kill these bastards.
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  Speaker 3: So there are onions.
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  Speaker 2: And they are very hopeful that this military help will
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: end the regime.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Australians are suddenly paying attention to the plight of Iranian women,
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: thanks to the Lionesses and thanks to the war that's
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: going on now. How does that make you feel?
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  Speaker 2: It is what we want forty seven years, you know,
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  Speaker 2: we want to be heard, but Western wasn't be ready.
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  Speaker 2: Western countries were not ready to listen to us, or
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: they ignore.
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  Speaker 3: Us by purpose.
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  Speaker 2: But now finally, after almost five decades, they are listening
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: to us.
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  Speaker 3: And it feels good.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: It feels that finally they can understand us, and they
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: can see our points, why we want military support and
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: what were our situation really in last five decades. Inside
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: they eat on all of the horror we experience, moreder rape,
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  Speaker 2: everything that we experience now after almost five decades are
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: revealed in Western countries.
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  Speaker 1: What do you think will happen to the line is
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  Speaker 1: who go back to Iran?
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  Speaker 2: I think and I hope it ends at least by
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  Speaker 2: a compulsory television confess, which is the minimum, and I
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: hope it will end with that. So it means they
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: put pressure on them and they ask these girls to
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  Speaker 2: go to television and say, oh, we didn't want to
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: take refuge in Australia, or they push us, or we
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: did mistake, I'm sorry, and that's all. This is very
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: common in Iran, and I hope if this happened, they
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: can back to their job. They came back to normal love,
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: you know, but the kind of normal life that we
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: expect they can have, and their family been released, and
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: it would be I think one of the good things
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: that can happen. I mean, when good, I'm saying good
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: because I know how it can be harsher and more
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  Speaker 2: violence if they the regime make decisions to punish them.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: So it can be like saying in the prison for
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: many years. They can be in solidarity. They can be physical,
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: they would be physical or sexual arrestment.
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  Speaker 3: There could be anything.
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  Speaker 1: Do they potentially face execution?
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  Speaker 2: You know, my orgist it came to TV and they
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: say these girls committed treasons under the bar situation and
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: we all know this kind of accusation can end up
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: with execution.
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: Hopefully not, but it can well.
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  Speaker 1: Shuku for thank you so much for the work you
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: do for us, and thanks for being an Australian.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you very much. Thank you.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: Sugar for Aza is a reporter with The Australian. You
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: can read her work anytime at the Australian dot com
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: dot au