IRAN: Iranian media reported that the head of the judiciary has vowed to prosecute women “without mercy”, who appear in public without hijab. This follows a statement from the interior ministry reaffirming the government’s need for women to wear the hijab.
As more women flout the nation’s mandatory clothing code, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei delivers a threat
Ejei stated that those who committed such abnormal acts would be “punished” and “prosecuted without mercy,” but he did not specify what the punishment would be.
The top justice of Iran, Ejei, has ordered law enforcement officials to report any offences against the Islamic code to judicial authorities.
After the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in September last year, an increasing number of Iranian women have decided to remove their headscarves. After her death, government forces forcefully put down a national uprising.
Since then, social media has been inundated with footage showing women defying the morality police while not wearing a hijab Public censure, fines, or arrest have been meted out to infringers.
Women in Iran are required to cover their hair and wear long, baggy clothing to comply with Islamic sharia law, which was put in place following the 1979 revolution.
Despite this, it is common to see women walking around without headscarves in malls, eateries, shops, and on the streets, even if it puts them at risk of being arrested.
The Interior Ministry on Thursday called hijab “one of the civilisational foundations of the Iranian nation” and urged people to confront women who aren’t covered up. This has been seen as giving hardliners the confidence to assault women with impunity.
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