Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian
SWARAJYA | Published December 4, 2024
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has raised concerns over proposed legislation introducing stricter penalties for women who flout mandatory hijab regulations.
Women in Iran have been mandated to cover their hair in public since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
However, an increasing number of women have been seen without hijabs in the Islamic country, a trend that gained momentum after protests erupted over Mahsa Amini’s death in custody in September 2022.
She was arrested for allegedly violating the dress code.
The Iranian parliament has passed the “hijab and chastity” law, which will only come into force if signed by the President on 13 December.
“As the person responsible for promulgating this law, I have many reservations about it,” Pezeshkian told state television late Monday (2 December), AFP reported.
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SOURCE: www.swarajyamag.com
RELATED: Iran tightens hijab laws as women’s resistance grows
The legislation imposes huge fines for women who improperly wear a hijab or forgo it altogetherImage: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/picture alliance
DW | Published December 4, 2024
Iran’s parliament has approved a new hijab law imposing severe fines on women who violate dress codes. This move comes amid growing defiance and protests following Mahsa Amini’s death.
The Iranian parliament has approved the so-called hijab and chastity bill, which mandates women to wear hijabs and introduces strict penalties on those who do not.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women in Iran have been required to cover their hair in public.
Increasing numbers choose not to wear hijabs, especially since the 2022 death in police custody of Iranian-Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini.
The 22-year-old had been arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code.
Amini’s death sparked widespread protests, largely led by women and schoolgirls, calling for political change. It also inspired the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, which challenged authorities’ enforcement of the hijab mandate.
The hijab and chastity bill was drafted by the Iranian judiciary on the instructions of former President Ebrahim Raisi in response to the increasing reluctance of many women to wear the hijab.
What does the new law say?
Iranian media reports say the legislation imposes fines equivalent to up to 20 months of the average salary for women who improperly wear a hijab or forgo it altogether in public or on social media.
Fines must be paid within 10 days, failing which violators will face restrictions on access to government services, such as the issuance or renewal of passports, driver’s licenses and exit permits.
Mary Mohammadi, a US-based Iranian political analyst, told DW that the law aims to hinder woman by making their struggle too costly.
“It seeks to prevent the advancement of women’s demands, bolster the morale of the regime’s ideological supporters, exhaust the psyche of society by creating all-encompassing conflicts in daily life and weaken the revolutionary potential led by women,” she said.
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SOURCE: www.dw.com
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