Govt imposes severe punishment on women, girls for not wearing hijab
Iran’s parliament recently passed a bill to impose stricter penalties on women who defy Tehran’s conservative dress code, a move that has drawn criticism from the United Nations and human rights organisations, who deem it as gender apartheid.
According to the judiciary’s Mizan news outlet, the bill has been granted approval for a three-year experimental phase.
Under this new legislation, women who refuse to wear a headscarf or adhere to the prescribed clothing standards could face imprisonment for a significant duration of five to ten years. This severe punishment applies specifically to those who are found to be “cooperating with foreign or hostile governments, media, groups, or organizations.”
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It was passed in parliament on Wednesday, with 152 votes in favour, 34 against and seven abstentions.
The bill was proposed after months of nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody last year after allegedly breaching hijab rules.
Anyone who “mocks” the hijab “on social media or otherwise will be fined and can face a ban on leaving the country for up to two years, it added.
“A fine of one degree of aggravation and other punishments of the first degree will also be applied.”
An unveiled woman stands on top of a vehicle as thousands make their way towards Aichi cemetery in Saqez, Mahsa Amini’s home town, to mark 40 days since her death.
An unveiled woman stands on top of a vehicle as thousands make their way towards Aichi cemetery in Saqez, Mahsa Amini’s… home town, to mark 40 days since her death.
Many women have continued to defy Iran’s dress code in response to a crackdown from authorities, appearing in public without the mandatory hijab.
Tehran has introduced several rules clamping down on women’s freedoms in recent months, including barring women without the hijab from universities and their workplaces.
Authorities have confiscated vehicles from women driving without a hijab after cameras were installed to track drivers within their own cars.
UN experts said the law “imposes severe punishments on women and girls for non-compliance which may lead to its violent enforcement”.
Women across Iran have reported increased morality police patrols in recent months.
Experts have told The National that women have been harassed in the street, barred from doctor’s offices and prevented from visiting graves for appearing in public without the hijab.
Businesses have been closed for serving women without the hijab.
Last month, a water park was closed down by authorities for allegedly violating such rules, while women without the hijab have also been barred from Tehran’s metro system.
“The pressures have escalated to the point of shutting down cafes, restaurants, and shopping centres. Even now, this situation has created tension within society, pitting people against each other,” an employee from Gershad, which helps Iranian woman track the morality police, told The National.
“The fact that 10 individuals are making decisions for 85 million people will have a significant impact on women’s resistance,” they added.
Gershad has received more than 10,000 reports of unmarked morality police vans since they returned to the streets in July.
“This shows how people feel about the situation, and they do not wish to return to the previous status quo before Mahsa’s death.”
