🌏 Two Chinese Athletes Hugged And Got Censored Over Tiananmen Square, Iranian Girl Allegedly Beaten Into Coma By "Morality" Police And More

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Chinese authorities have censored a photo capturing two women Chinese athletes hugging each other after a race over an accidental reference to the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Lin Yuwei, 24, and Wu Yanni, 26, who both competed in the women’s 100-meter hurdles final at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Sunday, October 1, embraced each other after Lin won Gold.

The Asian Games, held every four years in the even years between the Olympic Games, is recognized as the world’s second-largest multi-sport competition after the Olympics.

In the photo that has since mostly been taken off on Weibo, one of China’s largest social media platforms, the women both wore stickers showing their lane numbers – 6 for Lin and 4 for Wu – forming the numbers “64”, turning their celebratory moment into a controversial situation.

The number “64” is a common reference to the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing which happened on June 4, 1989.

During the massacre, Chinese government troops armed with assault rifles and tanks killed thousands of student-led pro-democracy demonstrators.

The incident is strictly censored in the mainland; any vague or unintentional references are removed from the internet, and anyone who openly commemorates the incident is subject to arrest.

Also Happening Around The World

🇬🇧 Someone has chopped down the famous “Robin Hood” tree in the UK and people are furious.

🇻🇳 Vietnam has jailed this top climate activist for three years for “tax evasion”.

🇹🇼 Also in Asia, a typhoon named “puppy” in Japanese hit Taiwan, and people turned it into a huge meme.

A 16-year-old Iranian girl named Armita Geravand has been allegedly beaten into coma by “morality” police for violating the country’s mandatory hijab law.

CCTV footage on Sunday Oct. 1 showed a group of girls entering a subway train in Tehran, with some girls not appearing to be wearing headscarves.

Moments later, Geravand is seen being carried off the train, unconscious, by other passengers.

No video footage showed what happened inside the train, but Human Rights group Hengaw said that Geravand was subjected to “a severe physical assault” by the so-called “morality” police.

Hengaw shared a photo of Geravand being treated at Tehran’s Fajr Hospital, saying that the hospital was under tight security.

The government’s official media said that Geravand had fainted due to low blood pressure.

However, CCTV footage of the incident released by the government had been edited, with more than three minutes missing, according to Amnesty International.

It also published a video of her parents saying Geravand was not attacked, reinforcing the government narrative.

There are widespread concerns that the video was filmed under duress.

On Monday Oct. 2, a woman journalist was arrested for trying to visit the hospital and report on Gervand’s case.

Hengaw said that Gervand’s mother had been violently arrested by security forces near the hospital on Wednesday Oct. 4, adding that her whereabouts remain unknown.

The incident comes just over a year after the death of Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by “morality” police for allegedly breaking the hijab law, sparking widespread protests.

More Women You Should Know About

🇮🇷 Days later, Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Iranian woman activist, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

🌎 On Thursday, Sep. 28, International Safe Abortion Day, women across Latin America took to the streets to advocate for safe, legal and stigma-free abortion.

In a historic moment, Mauritius Supreme Court has ruled that criminalizing same-sex acts is unconstitutional.

In Mauritius, a British colonial-era law criminalized anal intercourse between gay men with up to five years in prison.

On Wednesday Oct. 4, the court determined the law breached people’s rights to freedom of expression, privacy, and liberty, ending the 185 years colonial law.

The case was brought forward by gay male activist Abdool Ridwan (Ryan) Firaas Ah Seek, who has been living with his partner for the last 10 years,  in 2019.

“From today, as a citizen and a human being, I am now free to love whoever I want to without fear. Above all, it also means that the next generations can fully and freely embrace their sexuality without fear of being arrested,” Ah Seek said.

Activists hope the ruling will cause other Africa nations to overturn their anti-gay legislation.

South Africa, Botswana, Seychelles, Angola and Mozambique have also ended colonial laws that criminalized consensual intercourse between gay people in recent years.

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