Iran’s president says hijab is the law after viral video shows a man throwing yogurt at uncovered women in Mashad.
President Ebrahim Raisi has said hijab is “a legal matter” in Iran after viral video surfaced showing a man throwing yogurt at two uncovered women at a shop near a holy Shia Muslim city.
A growing number of women have defied authorities by removing their veils following nationwide protests following the death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman in morality police custody in September for allegedly violating hijab rules. Security forces used violence against the protests.
The video appeared to show two female customers entering a store. Shortly thereafter, a man approaches the women and speaks to them. He then picks up what appears to be a large jar of yogurt and throws its contents at the two women’s heads.
Judicial authorities in a town near the northeastern city of Mashhad ordered the arrest of two women, a mother and her daughter, for violating Iran’s strict dress code for women and “committing a prohibited act,” state media reported on Saturday.
Authorities issued an arrest warrant for the man “on charges of insulting and disturbing public order,” the justice website, Mizan Online, reported.
Women risk arrest for defying mandatory dress codes and are still commonly seen unveiled in malls, restaurants, shops and streets across the country.
Videos of unveiled women defying vice squads have flooded social media.
In live remarks on state television, Raisi Sai said, “When some people say they don’t believe [in the hijab] … it’s good to do persuasion … But the important point is that there is a legal obligation … and the hijab is a legal matter today.”
Authorities said the milk shop owner who confronted the attacker had been warned.
Reports on social media showed his shop had been closed, although he was quoted by a local news outlet as saying he had been allowed to reopen and had to make “statements” in court.
Justice chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei had previously threatened to “mercilessly” prosecute women who appear in public unveiled, Iranian media reported.
“Disclosure is tantamount to enmity [our] Values,” Ejei was quoted as saying by several news sites.
He added that Iran’s enemies abroad encourage the violations.
Under Iranian law, introduced after the 1979 revolution, women are required to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothing to hide their figure. Violators were faced with public reprimands, fines or arrests.
An Interior Ministry statement on Thursday, calling the veil “one of the civilizing foundations of the Iranian nation” and “one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic,” said there will be no “retreat or tolerance” on the issue.
It called on citizens to confront unveiled women. Such directives have encouraged some people to attack women with impunity in the past few decades.
The government has often ignored violations of the hijab rule, but this has sparked anger among pro-government religious leaders and politicians.
According to media reports, a religious leader and lawmaker on Saturday threatened to take action themselves if the government doesn’t step up to enforce rules obliging individuals to wear hijab.