Attacked with Yogurt & Arrested: The Dangers of Not Wearing Hijab in Iran

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Iranian authorities arrested a mother and her daughter for not wearing hijabs after a man threw a tub of yogurt at them for not wearing headscarves.

The assault was caught in a short clip, which became viral on social media. In the footage, the two women were seen entering a shop. The daughter was seen not wearing any head covering, while her mother wore a hijab, albeit loosely.

A man entered the shop and confronted the daughter, presumably because she wore no head covering. After the brief verbal altercation, the man was seen getting a tub of yogurt from a shelf before hitting the daughter with the yogurt and pouring the rest onto her mother.

The shopkeeper was then seen confronting the man, pushing him outside as his two victims and other customers looked on. Authorities arrested and jailed the two women for violating the country’s mandatory hijab laws, while an arrest warrant was issued for the man for disturbing the public order.

The owner of the dairy shop, who confronted the man who assaulted the two women, was warned by authorities, with some reports saying that his shop was shut down after the incident. However, a local news agency reported that the shopkeeper was allowed to open his shop, but he was required to "give explanations" to a court.

The viral video clip comes after many Iranians took to the streets to protest against the Islamic Republic after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.

Since the protests began in September last year, dozens of Iranian women have removed their hijab to protest the mandatory hijab laws and the regime that strictly enforces them, despite threats of arrest or even assault from security forces and pro-government Iranians.

In response to the viral clip, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said that wearing a hijab for women is a legal mandate in the Islamic Republic.

"If some people say they don't believe (in the hijab)... it's good to use persuasion ... But the important point is that there is a legal requirement ... and the hijab is today a legal matter." Raisi said on state television.

Iran’s Chief Justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, issued a stern warning against those who don’t follow Iran’s mandatory hijab laws, threatening those who don’t obey the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code will be punished.

“Unveiling is tantamount to enmity with [our] values,” Ejei said, as quoted by several news sites. He also said that those “who commit such anomalous acts will be punished” and would be “prosecuted without mercy,” without detailing the punishments for such violations.

Though protests against the mandatory hijab laws continue, the Islamic Republic did not bow to the pressure. Last March, the Iranian government tightened its rules, forcing women working in pharmacies to wear them while at work. Male pharmacy workers in Iran mocked the law by wearing hijabs to protest the new rules.

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