The Islamic Republic’s fight against the opposition in Iran continues as the regime is persistent in its efforts to strictly enforce its mandatory Islamic dress code to hundreds of thousands of Iranian women who continue to defy them. As the Iranian regime shows no signs of backing down, businesses have become the new battlefield in this war.
Read more about how a sanctions-hit economy suffers another blow nearly a year after mass protests in my new article for @NikkeiAsia :https://t.co/y0FnLmlLxG
— Tala Taslimi (@tala_taslimi) August 12, 2023
Last April, many news outlets reported that the Islamic Republic’s continuing efforts to force the country into obeying the mandatory hijab law resulted in unemployment, where tens of thousands of businesses were forced to close down after authorities found them flouting the mandatory hijab laws. Around 2,000 businesses throughout the country closed in March alone.
While the protests sparked after the death of Mahsa Amini under the custody of the country’s notorious morality police gradually subsided over the past few months, many women in Iran’s capital, Tehran, were commonly found uncovered. Authorities have also conducted raids against businesses where female customers or employees were seen not wearing the hijab.
We must rid the world of the immoral primitive male ego religions.
— Freethinker (@judynor00320887) August 11, 2023
The Iranian parliament is also discussing a law that would increase punishments not just for women found not wearing a headscarf but also for the businesses they frequently go to. These new developments could result in further unrest as the country prepares for its parliamentary elections in 2024 and as the Iranian economy struggles under the weight of sanctions imposed by Western countries over its nuclear program.
“If I face penalties and punishment, I will wear the headscarf since I am in a ... prominent position,” Parvaneh, a female doctor who treated injured protesters over massive demonstrations last year, said regarding the hijab law. She requested to be identified by her first name for her security.
“But the young people I treated during the protests will not pull back,” she added.
The hijab, seen by many observant Muslim women in Iran as a sign of modesty, has also become a political symbol, especially after the new regime made it mandatory following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
“Instead of addressing people’s legitimate grievances, the regime continues to obsess over the hijab and act as if its very survival depends on whether women dress modestly,” said Haleh Esfandiari, a fellow at the Washington-based Wilson Center.
— Rev. Angela Denker (@angela_denker) August 10, 2023
The morality police initially stopped enforcing the mandatory hijab law to avoid inciting more protests and civil disobedience. But with the morality police making a comeback ten months after the death of Mahsa Amini, the tone has changed, and businesses have become the latest victims of the Islamic Republic’s brutal suppression of dissent.
For instance, Iranian security forces searched social media for photos of women not wearing hijabs in businesses and the workplace. One of the offices of Digikala, a famous Iranian e-commerce company with over 40 million users, was shut down. Other industries, such as the online bookstore Taghcheh and the insurance marketplace Azki, were also forced to close down.
[Business] - Iran targets e-commerce giant over photos of female employees without headscarves in new crackdown
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Prosecutors in Damavand, a town located east of Tehran, ordered the arrest of a bank manager and teller for allegedly serving a woman not wearing a hijab. In the northeastern city of Mashhad, outdoor café seating is now banned, and supporters of the Islamic Republic in the city of Isfahan are demanding a ban on mixing women and men in shops.
Iran’s entertainment industry is also unsafe from the watchful eyes of the regime, as authorities threatened to shut down film productions that feature women without a hijab behind cameras. Three prominent actresses in Iran were also convicted for disobeying the mandatory hijab law. They had to undergo psychological treatment for their so-called “anti-social” and “anti-family” disorders.
See how agents of the Islamic Republic beat a woman, following the supreme leader’s call for action against anyone breaking the law. Walking unveiled is deemed illegal, yet Iranian women defy this rule and resist every day. #womanLifeFreedom pic.twitter.com/YP2u7oIEK6
— Masih Alinejad (@AlinejadMasih) August 14, 2023
The new bill being discussed in Iran’s parliament proposes harsher penalties for women not wearing the hijab, calling for prison sentences and fines of up to 360 million Iranian rials (equivalent to 720 US dollars) for those found violating the law. It also calls for segregation of sexes in schools, hospitals, and other locations, as well as fines for businesses with female staff or customers found not wearing the hijab with up to three months of their income.
