The Iranian authorities ordered the arrest of two women in a town near the city of Mashad, after a video in which they were attacked by a man for not wearing the hijab went viral, the judiciary reported on Saturday. The images, which have gone viral on social networks in Iran, show two clients inside a store with their heads uncovered: a man comes from behind, they have a verbal altercation and suddenly he takes a container with yogurt and empties it into the head. Another man came out from behind the counter to defend them and pushed the attacker away.
The authorities issued an arrest warrant against the man “on charges of committing insulting acts and disturbing the order,” but also against the two women for “committing a prohibited act” by not wearing a headscarf, the judiciary website indicated. Mizan Online.
“The necessary notices have been sent to the owner of the store in which it occurred so that it complies with legal and Sharia principles in accordance with the regulations” in force, the same source added.
In September 2022, massive protests broke out in Iran that lasted for months after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish girl arrested for not complying with the country’s dress code, which requires women to wear headscarves.
Hundreds of protesters and dozens of law enforcement officers were killed, and thousands were detained during the demonstrations, which Tehran blames on Western powers.
Since the protests, some women are daring to go out on the streets without a veil, especially in the Iranian capital. President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated on Saturday that Iranian women must wear the jihab out of “religious necessity” and by law, making compliance with that precept “mandatory.”