On April 9, millions of Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. On this major holiday in the Islamic calendar, devout Muslims tend to begin the day with a communal prayer.
But Iranian women's rights activist Fariba Balouch said that once again this year, this will not be possible for Sunnis in the Iranian capital, Tehran. "Even 45 years after the founding of the Islamic Republic in Iran, they still do not have their own mosque to celebrate this festival with a communal prayer," she told DW.
Balouch, who has lived in exile in London for four years, was born into a Sunni family in the eastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which is located on the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Almost half of the province's population of 3.2 million is Sunni. It is estimated that, overall, Shiite Muslims make up 10% of the population in predominantly Shiite Iran.
"We are oppressed because of our religion," said Balouch. "Sunnis in Iran are not allowed to hold any important political offices; they cannot become president or head of the judiciary, nor can they be members of the Guardian Council or........