Iran’s deputy attorney general, Ali Jamadi, has stated that individuals who encourage women to remove the hijab will be prosecuted in criminal courts and will have no right of appeal against any conviction. The comments come amid a growing number of Iranian women defying the country’s compulsory dress code by appearing unveiled in public places. Female celebrities and activists have also posted photos of themselves without the veil on social media.
To crack down on the defiance, Iranian police have installed cameras in public places to identify and penalise unveiled women. Jamadi has warned that the punishment for promoting and encouraging others to remove the hijab is much heavier than the crime of removing the hijab itself, as it is viewed as encouraging corruption. He did not specify what the punishments might be or what constitutes promoting unveiling.
The defiance against the dress code has grown since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was in custody of the morality police for allegedly violating the hijab rule. Her death has sparked protests, with videos of unveiled women resisting the morality police flooding social media.