Iran

Iran Passes Hijab Bill

SEP 21 2023·Updated AUG 27

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Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Facts

Iran's parliament passed a bill Wednesday that imposes heavier penalties on women for violating the Islamic dress code, including jail terms of up to 10 years.
BBC News
The measure also seeks to identify people who "promote nudity [or] indecency" or "mock" the rules. This applies to both online and offline spaces.
guardian
The "Hijab and Chastity Bill" — which was passed by a parliamentary vote of 152 to 34 — will now be submitted for approval to the Guardian Council, which is a conservative-leaning entity comprised of both clerics and jurists.
Cnbctv18.Com
The UN, which described the bill as "gender apartheid," alleged the country appeared to be "governing through systemic discrimination with the intention of suppressing women and girls into total submission."
Independent
The bill comes a year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini — who was detained by morality police for not wearing the hijab — sparked nationwide demonstrations and killed over 500 protesters.
Independent
Many Iranian women have since defied the Islamic dress code, pushing Iran's executive and judiciary to propose a bill to "protect society" and "strengthen family life." The ruling conservatives argue that relaxing the rules would rupture "social norms."
The New Arab

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The Spin

Anti-Iran narrative

The bill is inherently discriminatory and amounts to gender persecution. The Iranian government is using culture as a tool to weaponize public morals and violate women's fundamental rights, including freedom of opinion and expression.

Al Jazeera

Pro-Iran narrative

Contrary to Western propaganda, Islam and the Shia sect respect and protect women. The wearing of a hijab should not be de-contextualized and misrepresented by the West, which attempts to undermine the important position of women in Islam and in Iran.

IRNA