Iran's hijab crackdown: Women fight back amid harsh penalties
The campaign against women in Iran is intensifying. The morality police are persecuting them for improperly wearing or not wearing a hijab. Women are being brutally detained. Despite promises of potential legislative relief, the President has done nothing on this issue.
According to the Iranian law introduced after the Islamic Revolution, every woman must cover her hair in public places. This is enforced by a special morality police unit.
In 2022, Kurdish Mahsa Amini was detained for wearing her hijab too loosely. The 22-year-old was beaten by officers, which led to massive protests.
Recently, much attention has been drawn to the case of Agou Daryaei, a university student in Tehran. Authorities criticized the woman for inappropriate attire, so in protest, she stripped down to her underwear and walked around the university courtyard. She was detained, brutally treated, and then taken to an undisclosed location. According to media reports, she was taken to a psychiatric hospital. Human rights organizations have directly called it an "abduction."
This is not the first time authorities have subdued protesting women and attempted to label them with mental disorders. In 2018, Azem Jangrawi removed her hijab during a protest. She later recounted how the authorities arrested her and forced her to sign a document declaring she had mental health problems.
Campaign of light
The situation for women has worsened, among other reasons, due to a new law enacted in April, under which the authorities are conducting a campaign called "Noor" ("light" in Persian).
"The efforts to punish women without the hijab should be doubled," said Tehran's mayor, Alireza Zakani, at the time. Police Chief Ghasem Rezaei, on the other hand, stated that officers "are proud to implement God’s command."
The new regulations involve hefty fines and even imprisonment for not complying with dress codes. This has led to brutal detentions, which are often caught on recordings shared on social media.
Young women report instances where the morality police do not allow them to enter the metro if their hair is not covered. The traffic police also cooperate with the morality police, stopping vehicles as soon as they see a woman without a hijab inside.
The new Iranian president, reformist Masud Pezeshkian, announced that he would strive to relax the regulations. The morality police were not supposed to confront [women]. I will follow up so they don't bother" them, he declared. However, experts point out that since July, when he was sworn in, he has done nothing to improve the situation for women.
