Iran: UN condemns tightening controls on unveiled women

Almost two years after the death of Masha Amini, the fate of Iranian women is still in danger. Control over unveiled women is being tightened in Iran, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We have received reports of mass arrests and harassment of women and girls, often between the ages of 15 and 17,” High Commission spokesman Jeremy Lawrence said during a press briefing.

He said the Office had received reports that “Iranian police – in uniform and in plainclothes – are carrying out brutal crackdowns across the country against women and girls, as well as the men who support them, to enforce the country’s strict hijab laws.” . In recent months, he insisted, police have been “increasingly active in enforcing” these laws.

Jeremy Lawrence explained that there were reports of hundreds of businesses being forced to close due to their failure to comply with mask laws, as well as the use of CCTV cameras to identify offending drivers.

In mid-April, Iranian police announced they had tightened enforcement of the mandatory wearing of the veil by women on the street, regretting that it was being observed less and less. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, women have been required to cover their hair in public.

Bill on the promotion of hijab

But more and more women are appearing without the veil, especially after the protest movement sparked by the death in custody in September 2022 of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for violating the country’s strict dress code.

On Friday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights explained that the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on April 21 the creation of a new body responsible for enforcing hijab laws.

In addition, Jeremy Lawrence noted, the High Commission is “very concerned that the Supporting Families by Promoting a Culture of Chastity and Hijab Bill is pending, which would impose even harsher sanctions. Council of Guardians.

The High Commission also calls on Iranian authorities to overturn the death sentence of rapper Toumaj Salehi, jailed for supporting Iran’s 2022 protest movement, and calls for his “immediate and unconditional release.”