Iranian police enforce crackdown on hijab violations
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian police on Saturday put into force a plan to crackdown on women who violate the country’s mandatory dress code as chemical attacks on girls’ schools continue.
“People who violate the law are responsible for their actions and must be held accountable for their behavior,” read a statement from Security Police chief Hassan Mofakhami.
Workplaces will be required to monitor their employees to ensure they are following the dress code and car owners could be warned if their passengers are unveiled. Earlier this month, Iranian police began installing cameras in public places to identify unveiled women who would receive warnings via text messages.
Women across the country began removing their headscarves in defiance of the law after a Kurdish woman, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, died in police custody last September after allegedly violating the dress code.
On Saturday, university organizations planned a day of protest against the hijab and many women shared photos of themselves bareheaded, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran.
Amini’s death sparked a wave of protests across the country. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands were arrested in a crackdown on the demonstrations. Women and schoolgirls were frequently on the frontlines of demonstrations.
Two months after the protests erupted, reports began to emerge of mass poisonings at girls’ schools around the country. More than 100 people have been arrested but the poisonings continue. Seven schools were attacked on Saturday “resulting in dozens of students being poisoned and sent to medical centers,” according to human rights monitor Hengaw.
Schools in Sanandaj, Sarpol-e Zahab, Mahabad, Urmia, Izeh, and Shahr-e Qods were attacked with a chemical gas. Some of the students are in critical condition.
The Iranian government is accused of downplaying the seriousness of the attacks with Human Rights Watch saying in March that “Iranian authorities have a terrible record of investigating violence against women and girls.”
“People who violate the law are responsible for their actions and must be held accountable for their behavior,” read a statement from Security Police chief Hassan Mofakhami.
Workplaces will be required to monitor their employees to ensure they are following the dress code and car owners could be warned if their passengers are unveiled. Earlier this month, Iranian police began installing cameras in public places to identify unveiled women who would receive warnings via text messages.
Women across the country began removing their headscarves in defiance of the law after a Kurdish woman, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, died in police custody last September after allegedly violating the dress code.
On Saturday, university organizations planned a day of protest against the hijab and many women shared photos of themselves bareheaded, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran.
Two young women without hijabs posed for a photo by a police car in Iran in an act of civil disobedience against the state's forced-hijab law on a day of national protest against the discriminatory law that was organized by university organizations.#Iran #WomanLifeFreedom pic.twitter.com/2TZuxZwKNX
— IranHumanRights.org (@ICHRI) April 15, 2023
Amini’s death sparked a wave of protests across the country. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands were arrested in a crackdown on the demonstrations. Women and schoolgirls were frequently on the frontlines of demonstrations.
Two months after the protests erupted, reports began to emerge of mass poisonings at girls’ schools around the country. More than 100 people have been arrested but the poisonings continue. Seven schools were attacked on Saturday “resulting in dozens of students being poisoned and sent to medical centers,” according to human rights monitor Hengaw.
Schools in Sanandaj, Sarpol-e Zahab, Mahabad, Urmia, Izeh, and Shahr-e Qods were attacked with a chemical gas. Some of the students are in critical condition.
The Iranian government is accused of downplaying the seriousness of the attacks with Human Rights Watch saying in March that “Iranian authorities have a terrible record of investigating violence against women and girls.”