Iranian authorities forcibly disperse sit-in by demonstrators advocating for the enforcement of mandatory head coverings for women.
Iranian authorities have forcibly dispersed a prolonged sit-in by demonstrators advocating for the enforcement of mandatory head coverings for women, AFP reported on Sunday, citing Iranian state media.
Officials deemed the protest, which had continued for weeks, to be illegal.
The demonstrators, predominantly women dressed in full-body black robes, had been staging the sit-in outside Tehran’s parliament since last month. Their demand: the enforcement of a stricter law imposing harsher penalties on those defying the country’s hijab mandate.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has required women to cover their hair in public. However, an increasing number—especially in major cities such as Tehran—have been pushing the boundaries, allowing their head coverings to slip back.
While parliament passed the hijab enforcement bill in September 2023, it sparked intense debate, was never submitted for final approval, and has since been shelved, noted AFP.
“After numerous negotiations with the relevant authorities and the protesters, they were requested to disperse and refrain from causing disruption, blocking roads, and creating traffic congestion for citizens,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.
“A large number of the protesters complied with the police order and left the area but unfortunately a small number (around 30 individuals) resisted,” Mizan added.
The official IRNA news agency reported that the “illegal” sit-in had been ongoing for approximately 48 days.
Officially named the “Law on Supporting the Family through the Promotion of the Culture of Chastity and Hijab,” the proposed legislation sought to impose severe fines and prison sentences on women who refused to comply with the hijab mandate.
The bill was introduced in the aftermath of widespread protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, who died in custody after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women in 2022.
The government crackdown on the demonstrations that followed Amini’s death resulted in hundreds of people being killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested. Her death also ignited a wave of defiance, with more women openly flouting the hijab law.
In January, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani confirmed that the bill had been shelved, warning that its enforcement “could have had serious social consequences.”
