In Iran, women were dragged and attacked in the middle of the road for not wearing headscarf
War tensions between Iran and Israel have resulted in increased repression against the female population in the Iranian state. In 2023, with the approval of a new law, penalties for not wearing a headscarf in public places were tightened, a gesture that was criticized by some citizens after Mahsa Amini was arrested by moral police for not wearing a hijab in September. Was adopted after death. 2022. Everything has become worse. Now after exchanging attacks with Israel, the Iranian government has increased the pressure. In different videos you can see how the police drag several women across the street without headscarves and even stop vehicles to check whether their drivers have their heads covered or not. According to some victims in the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’, there are reports of physical and sexual harassment.
These days the moral police is running a new campaign to cover up. In Persian it is called ‘Noor’, ‘light’. Agents have brutally enforced this law, as can be seen in videos circulated on social networks by human rights defense associations. In one of them you can see a mother and her daughter walking down a street in Tehran. They are surrounded by seven agents, five of them women wearing chadar (a scarf that covers the head but leaves the face visible). First they insult the citizens and then detain them. As they protest, they violently drag them towards the police van.
Similar scenes are repeated. Dina Ghalibaf, a university student in Tehran, claimed on social media that she was kept in a room in the Sadaghiyed metro station. “They pulled me violently into a room. They shot me with a taser (electric) gun. “They handcuffed me and one of the agents sexually assaulted me,” she said. He has been arrested and is in Evin prison. Iranian regime sources deny the attacks. Instead, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nargess Mohammadi, also a prisoner, sent a voice message in support of Ghalibaf and encouraged women in her country to tell their stories of arrest and sexual violence by members of the security forces.
“They kicked me everywhere”
‘The Guardian’ spoke to the victims and relatives of this repression. A young woman from Tehran described her experience: “About eight officers surrounded me and started shouting at me. They insulted me, called me a ‘whore’, a ‘naked America-loving slut’. During this he kicked my legs, my stomach, everywhere.
Another victim claims that “both women and men” touched her body during the arrest. “They say they are religious and devout Muslims, but they don’t care if male officers touch us; in principle, they are forbidden to do so.” She was arrested for not wearing hijab.
The mission of the law supporting purity culture is to enforce the use of handkerchief. It envisages a fine of up to two thousand euros and a prison sentence of up to five years. Additionally, women who do not wear this garment may have their car confiscated and their driving license revoked. They also risk pay cuts, including layoffs, and may be restricted from accessing banking services. Now, following the exchange of projectiles with Israel, tensions have increased in Iran and with it the regime’s pressure on its female population.
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