PanARMENIAN.Net - A British-Iranian anthropologist who studies controversial topics such as child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Islamic Republic has been detained in Iran on unknown charges.
Kameel Ahmady was detained in Tehran, according to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran and his wife, Shafagh Rahmani. They said he was being held in Tehran’s Evin prison.
Ahmady, who has dual nationality, released an authoritative study on FGM in 2015 that found the practice is being carried out in at least four major provinces while officials are silent on the matter.
“FGM is practised in Iran in some cases to tame girls’ sex drive before marriage; it is made to preserve their chastity,” said Ahmady. “The attitude of officials and authorities is that FGM doesn’t exist in Iran. The Iranian public is also largely ignorant about the subject.”
Iranian state media did not acknowledge Ahmady’s detention. Iran’s mission to the United Nations and the British Foreign Office did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Ahmady’s ar...
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