Arrested and flogged in the capital Tehran… Up to a fine
Crackdown intensifies after protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022
Britain’s Telegraph and others reported on the 7th (local time) that the Iranian government administered 74 lashes to a woman in her 30s who refused to wear a hijab.
The Telegraph reported that an Iranian court sentenced Roya Hesimati, 33, to 74 lashes in accordance with the law and Islamic law (Sharia) for violating public morals by not wearing the hijab in public. The court also imposed a fine of 12 million rials (about 33,000 won) on him.
Hesimati was arrested in the capital Tehran for not wearing a hijab. However, the flogging of a woman for not wearing a hijab became an even more hot topic because it was unusual even in Iran.
Iran, once so liberal that it was called the ‘Europe of the Middle East’, made it mandatory for all women to wear hijab after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The ‘moral police’ organized by the government cracks down on and punishes citizens for their clothing.
In 2022, large-scale protests erupted after Mahsa Amini (22), a Kurdish woman who revealed part of her hair and wore a hijab, died mysteriously after being arrested. The protests started in Sanandaj, a Kurdish residential area, and spread throughout Iran and around the world. At the time, the Iranian government brutally suppressed the protesters. As a result, over 500 people died and over 20,000 were arrested.
Afterwards, the government strengthened crackdowns by installing surveillance cameras on the streets and suspending operations at stores that accept customers who do not wear hijabs. Iran’s parliament plans to increase regulations, including adopting a bill in September last year that would impose up to 10 years in prison for not wearing a hijab.
Iran’s measures are analyzed as being due to concerns that ‘freedom of hijab’ will become a catalyst to threaten the regime.
Foreign media added that Hesimati, who was arrested this time, was also a Kurdish woman. Iran has not only mandated the wearing of hijab for its Islamic rule, but has also oppressed minorities such as the Kurds. Hesimati’s lawyer said he was arrested in April last year for posting a photo without a hijab on social media.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.