Iranian authorities have been clear that they are determined to make the hijab mandatory for women
Posted Date – 07:00 AM, Sunday – 4/2/23
Photo: IANS
New Delhi: According to media reports, Iranian authorities have been making it clear that they are determined to make the hijab mandatory for women.
This comes after months of protests calling for an end to the restrictions, according to the BBC.
A hardline Iranian MP has issued an ultimatum to the judiciary to take steps within the next 48 hours to stop women flouting hijab rules, reports said.
Massive protests that erupted across Iran last September have now been largely quelled by force.
But some women continue to defy the mandatory wearing of the hijab in public. Videos and images posted online showed a surge of frustration and anger over the restrictions, which remain a powerful force in Iranian society.
A video released this week shows a man throwing a bucket of yogurt at a naked woman’s face. His actions were met with outrage from male and female bystanders, according to the BBC.
Protests swept across the Islamic Republic in September after a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, was detained by Tehran’s morality police for allegedly “inappropriately wearing the hijab”.
The Home Office announced this week that it would not back down or tolerate it on the issue. According to the BBC, the statement said the hijab remains an essential element of Islamic law and therefore will remain one of the main principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The tough rhetoric echoes that of the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, who recently said that women who do not wear the hijab will be prosecuted without mercy.
Now, a hardline MP says legislative steps must be taken to enforce what he calls the “sacred decree” of wearing the hijab, the BBC reports.
Hossein Ali Haji Deligani said that if the judiciary does not take such action within the next 48 hours, MPs will introduce a bill to fill the legal vacuum.
He said it would be in line with a parliamentary culture committee report on “chastity and the hijab”, according to the BBC.
