Independent UN experts expressed concern on Friday about Iran’s proposed law that would increase penalties for women who do not wear veils in public, likening it to “gender apartheid”.
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Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian law has required all women to wear a veil that covers the head and neck and hides hair in public places.
However, more and more Iranian women are appearing bareheaded on the streets, a trend that has coincided with the protest movement sparked by the death in custody last September of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for violating the strict dress code , has reinforced.
With a majority in power and in Parliament, the Conservatives ardently defend the veil requirement. In May, the judiciary and government proposed a bill entitled “Supporting the culture of hijab and chastity,” which would tighten sanctions, particularly financial ones, against “any person who removes their veil in public places or on the Internet.” suggests. But without going so far that she could be imprisoned.
“The bill could be described as a form of gender apartheid,” eight UN human rights experts said in a statement.
“The authorities appear to govern through systematic discrimination, with the intention of forcing women and girls into complete submission,” they added.
Experts, including the special rapporteur on Iran and members of the U.N. working group on discrimination against women and girls, say the bill, along with existing restrictions, is “discriminatory and could constitute persecution on the basis of gender.”
“The bill also violates fundamental rights,” such as the right to participate in cultural life, the ban on gender-based discrimination and freedom of opinion and expression, say experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council but not speaking on behalf of the organization.
They also criticize the use of several terms such as “nudity” and “lack of chastity” in the bill and call on the authorities to reconsider the legislation and “ensure the full enjoyment of human rights for all women and young girls in Iran.”