The Iranian regime and the new Hijab Apartheid
A new set of discriminatory measures installed by the government of ayatollah Khamenei deprives Iranian women who refuse to wear the hijab of their basic civil rights. This constitutes a form of apartheid, writes Kif Kif contributor Ali Arkani.
By Ali Arkani
Woman Life Freedom was a milestone in anti-regime protests in Iran since unlike its predecessors, this revolutionary movement set a point of no return for the people and the regime. There are still weekly anti-regime street marches in Zahedan. People continue to write anti-regime slogans on the walls or hang banners on highways and shout slogans in residential areas in the dead of the night and, of course, walk the streets without hijab – the compulsory Islamic dress code. While disregarding hijab in Iran is officially a crime punishable by imprisonment or fines, now it has turned into some sort of civil disobedience. Albeit a very dangerous one. An ever-growing number of women are walking the streets of Iran without hijab to the point that it stunned Financial Times’ Andrew England during his visit to Tehran and infuriated the hardliners and ayatollahs to the point they started a wave of hijab apartheid in the county.
After the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, Iranian officials are avoiding direct confrontations with women who do not observe the dress code. Perhaps they are afraid of another incident and reignition of the flames of Iranians’ wrath starting another wave of nationwide protests. But on the other hand, the ultra-religious groups that comprise most of the regimes’ supporters are getting restless. They are asking the officials to put an end to this ‘disrespect to Islam and Muslims’.
On top of that, a new incident in October shocked the world: the death of Armita Geravand. Witnesses said she and her friends had arguments with a hijab enforcer in Tehran subway and the enforcer attacked her, leading to fatal head injury and brain damage. Months before Armita’s death, signs of escalating violence towards women who refused to wear hijab were already evident. In another incident, a man deemed to be a member of the Basij group attacked a mother and daughter in a dairy shop because of not wearing a scarf. Later on, another video went viral, showing the same guy verbally abusing women on a bus in a similar scenario.
The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology published a statement declaring the termination of any educational and accommodation services to students who are not observing the dress code across the country. This led to the expulsion of hundreds of students as well as university professors
The regime — stuck between a rock and a hard place — put a plan in motion to make such civil disobedience costly, to prevent an escalation of the confrontation between the opposition and religious hardliners. First, some members of the Islamic Parliament of Iran talked about a bill to fine these women huge sums in a so-called ‘intelligent way’ and block their access to the cellular network, internet, and civil services. Later on, and after the Iranian new year holidays, the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology — responsible for universities in Iran — along with The Ministry of Education, published a statement declaring the termination of any educational and accommodation services to the students who are not observing the dress code across the country. This led to the expulsion of hundreds of students as well as university professors.
The limitations did not stop there. Iranian news outlets shared video footage of women being denied access to public tourism sites as well as airports in Shiraz unless they accepted wearing scarves. To make matters even worse, banners have been raised in metro stations across the country stating that women who are not observing the dress code would be denied access to public transportation, while new hijab enforcers where stationed in metro stations.
All these discriminatory actions came just prior to ayatollah Khamenei’s speech condemning the people who are not respecting Hijab and calling it a ‘religious and political forbidden act (haram)’. Before him, many other religious figures and ayatollahs such as Ahmad Alamolhoda — Mashad’s religious leader, appointed by Khamenei — warned women about religious groups running out of patience, and asked those groups to take action and protect Islam. This way, he quite obviously promoted violence against women that are not observing the dress code. The latest victim to such violence is Roya Heshmati, who was sentenced to 74 lashes for not wearing hijab in public and sharing a photo of it on social media. Roya was flogged by the order of the court on January the 3rd.
As if systematic torture, rape, and execution of protesters were not enough, Khamenei and his henchmen systemically depriving them of their basic civil rights, merely based on what they’re wearing
This new hijab apartheid is just the beginning of the regime’s latest crime against humanity as UN rapporteur on Iran Javid Rahman called it in his latest report on the situation of Human Rights in Iran. As if systematic torture, rape, and execution of protesters were not enough, Khamenei and his henchmen are not only promoting violence against women, but they are systemically depriving them of their basic civil rights merely based on their dress code.
This is a new low for the regime and all of its supporters, and the most disappointing aspect is the silence of the world leaders and the reluctancy of the EU to recognize this regime and all its executive branches such as IRGC and Basij as terrorists. To make the matters even worse, the United States recently provided Iran with billions of dollars by unfreezing their assets. It seems that while the Iranian regime commits one crime against humanity after another, commits violent actions against women, enacts discriminatory methods against them, and deprives them of their civil status as a citizen, the West naively believes they can negotiate with ayatollahs to stop their ultimate plan to take the world hostage using nuclear weapons. A fool’s hope that will cost the world direly.
Ali Arkani has been working as an independent journalist since 2017. His focus is on the entertainment sector. He also writes about social and political issues, including the role of women in Iranian and international film. In doing so, he collaborated with the film festival MOOOV.
