Iran International
A parliament committee in Iran has passed a hijab bill proposing to confiscate up to 10 percent of celebrities' assets and incomes if they violate hijab rules.
Hardliners on social media support the severe punishments, aiming to deter celebrities and influencers from defying hijab rules.
Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani, a former high-ranking Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) officer and hardline lawmaker in the parliament's judicial committee, described the bill as considering any action that weakens the family, including nudity, immorality, unveiling, and inappropriate clothing, as a crime. The bill defines "nudity" as appearing in public in clothing considered nude by social norms and will be punishable by a cash fine of 1 to 1.5 billion rials and a prison term of six months to ten years.
Haji-Deligani emphasized that the bill, named "Protection of Family Through Promotion of Hijab and Chastity Culture," includes measures against individuals “connected with foreign governments” and “media outside Iran” promoting nudity, immorality, unveiling, and inappropriate dressing with heavy sentences.
This was a clear reference to regime opponent and critical media, such as Iran International, the BBC Persian Service and others.
Since March, hardliners have attempted to end women's increasing defiance of compulsory hijab and reclaim lost ground, but their efforts have been unsuccessful. The draft bill, jointly prepared by the government and judiciary, faced strong criticism from hardliners for its perceived leniency towards unveiling.
Apart from unveiling, the bill also targets individuals who confront citizens in public, use violence, and threaten unveiled women. Radical clerics have incited citizens to take the law into their own hands as a moral duty.
If approved, adherence to hijab laws would become a criterion for employment in public or private organizations in the future. Clothing that reveals the neck, arms above the wrist, and legs above the ankles will be considered "inappropriate clothing" and will be punishable by a cash fine of up to 500 million rials ($1,000) for the first infringement.
Not covering the head will also be punishable by a cash fine of 240 to 500 million rials for the first instance and up to 1.5 billion rials if repeated more than four times.
The hijab bill also bans taking photos or videos of police while enforcing hijab, but details of proposed punishments have not been made public yet.
Female employees and visitors are still sometimes inspected by female inspectors before entering government buildings to ensure compliance with regulations regarding their tunic, pants, and headscarves or Maghna'e (pullover headscarf with stitched front).
In the first two decades of the Islamic Revolution, inspectors also ensured women's hair did not show from under their headscarf or Maghna'e, and they did not wear makeup, nail polish, or "inappropriate accessories." Clothing generally had to be black, brown, navy, gray, or beige and very loose-fitting.
Over the years, the rules were relatively relaxed depending on which political faction was in power, and some makeup and a little color in clothing became more acceptable.
In July 2022, after weeks of harsh measures on the streets, President Ebrahim Raisi ordered all government entities to strictly implement a “chastity and hijab” law approved by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council under hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005.
Shortly after, the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of hijab enforcers fueled protests that spread throughout the country.
Reformist daily Etemad revealed this week that a new round of political struggles over power is underway between Paydari and parliament (Majles) Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The rivalry extends beyond the Majles election and partly revolves around competition for Iran's presidency in 2025. The feud is discernible in pro-Ghalibaf daily Sobh-e No and Paydari's mouthpiece Raja News websites.
The newspaper wrote that Ghalibaf and Paydari's media fleets have been exchanging accusations and counteraccusations throughout the month of July. The daily added that the two were on the verge of a coalition ahead of the March 2024 parliamentary elections, but in the absence of Iran's reformists on the scene, they started to compete against each other.
Iran’s reformists who were mostly barred from competing in the 2020 parliamentary elections have not decided to register for the upcoming vote, because they are not sure if conservatives controlling the electoral system will allow them to compete.
Etemad also wrote that the rivalry goes beyond the Majles election and is partly about competition over Iran's presidency in 2025. Raja News accused Sobh-e No of belittling what it called Raisi's achievement in making Iran a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Sobh-e No responded by jokingly calling the Paydari a bunch of super-revolutionaries working against Ghalibaf.
While the media battle continues, a conservative commentator and a former editor of the Kayhan, Mohammad Mohajeri told Etemad Online that if the upcoming elections will become a rivalry among conservatives without reformists playing a part in the elections, Paydari is most likely to win the parliament in March.
"We can congratulate Morteza Agha-Tehrani as the next speaker of the Majles even today," he said. Agha-Tehran was previously the leader of the Paydari Party but stepped down due to allegations about having US citizenship or permanent residency and was replaced by former IRGC officer and Interior Minister Sadegh Mahsouli. Nonetheless, many inside and outside the party believe Agha-Tehran has the final say in the party.
Mohajeri further charged that Paydari operates like a business firm and is currently pretending to have the upper hand in Iranian politics in order to get concessions from other conservative groups.
He added that "Paydari candidates had an average of 250,000 votes in the 2020 parliamentary elections. They can win all the 30 seats for Tehran if others do not compete for any reason." Mohajeri further said, "For the same reason Paydari wants a low-turnout election in March."
While the parliament is sending the final months of its four-year term, some observers say it suffers from an unprecedented lack of influence and popularity. Former lawmaker Iraj Nadimi told Rouydad24 that not only the current members of the parliament cannot solve any of the country's problems, but they also keep creating new problems.
Nadimi said the Majles is incapable of supervising the government, and instead it is currently following the government. He added that despite Khamenei's support for the Majles, it is no longer trusted by the people.
"People in the streets, are generally unhappy about the parliament's performance because it cannot solve their problems, because its legislative agenda was not aimed at addressing challenges." Nadimi was likely referring to the economic crisis that has impoverished tens of millions of people and the regime’s unwillingness to reach a nuclear agreement with the West that could lift crippling economic sanctions.
In response to an Iran International press query about the arrest of Saman Pashaei, an Iranian-Kurd and the world’s third-ranked junior wrestling champion, an IOC spokesperson said, “We continue to monitor the situation very closely.”
The IOC spokesperson referred Iran International to its “position relating to the situation of sport and the athletes in Iran.” The IOC position on its website is dated March 29 and states: “The IOC EB [Executive Board] reserves the right to take any appropriate action relating to the participation of the Iranian NOC [National Olympic Committee] and athletes in the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024, depending on the developments in this situation.”
The IOC has faced intense criticism over the years from the United for Navid campaign and Rob Koehler, Director General of Global Athlete, for failing to punish Iran’s regime for its executions and imprisonment of athletes who have demonstrated against Khamenei’s regime.
United for Navid is an organization composed of highly decorated Iranian athletes who seek justice for the champion Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler Navid Afkari who was hanged by the clerical regime in September 2020.
Sardar Pashaei, the executive manager of United for Navid and the brother of Saman, told Iran International “I firmly state that the International Olympic Committee’s inaction in the face of the Iranian regime’s behavior will lead to a worsening situation, not an improvement. With each passing day, Iran’s regime will grow bolder in punishing athletes, resulting in a grave moral and practical failure on the part of the IOC.”
Just weeks ago, Iran’s regime imposed the death penalty on school boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani for allegedly setting government property, including a penitentiary, on fire.
A letter signed by 108 human rights experts and NGOs was sent to Volker Türk,
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on July 19, urging the UN official to intervene to save the boxer’s life. According to the letter, “He was arrested in March 2020 (Persian calendar month of Esfand 1398) for taking part in the November 2019 anti-government protests. He was tortured for several months and eventually handed down an execution sentence for ‘efsad-fil-arz’ (‘corruption on Earth’) by Branch Four of the Mashhad Revolutionary Court.”
The letter added, “In recent months, the Iranian authorities have executed at least seven other protesters on similar bogus charges with total impunity. These political executions are a callous attempt by the authorities to frighten and silence an increasingly restive population no longer willing to accept their corrupt and oppressive rule.”
According to the March IOC statement, “The IOC has expressed serious concerns over the past few months vis-à-vis the situation of the Iranian athletes and the Olympic community as a whole in the current context of the upheavals and demonstrations in the country and has urged the NOC to take appropriate action with the highest authorities to protect the athletes and members of the Olympic community from a humanitarian perspective.”
The IOC conducted a meeting with the Iranian regime-controlled National Olympic Committee NOC. According to the IOC, it requested and received a written report from the NOC “on all the issues addressed during the meeting, including the status of women in sport.”
The IOC said, “Having studied the report, the IOC will continue to monitor the situation and to request immediate intervention from the NOC whenever there is any specific issue affecting the athletes and members of the Olympic community in the country.”
Pashaei, who was the former head coach of Iran’s national Greco-Roman wrestling team, said “Instead of meeting with Iranian officials, the International Olympic Committee should meet with us, the athletes, and listen to our truth. Over the past few months, athletes have endured imprisonment, torture, and even had their families taken hostage, while Iranian officials have only worked to conceal these atrocities instead of supporting athletes.”
In February, the IOC warned the Iranian regime-controlled NOC to respect the Olympic charter due to the Iranian regime’s promotion of discrimination against Israeli athletes. In April 2022, the Iranian karate champion Sajjad Ganjzadeh criticized the Islamic Republic’s boycott policy targeting Israeli athletes. He wrote on Instagram “We cannot tolerate this anymore. Not competing is more difficult than competing.”
According to the February IOC press statement, ”The Iranian NOC made clear commitments to pursue and expand its efforts to safeguard the athletes’ rights, from both a humanitarian and a sporting perspective, and to continue to act in accordance with the Olympic Charter and fully respect the principle of non-discrimination.”
Iran International noted at the time that sports is under the direct control of the government, and in many instances, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and the Iranian Olympic committee would be hardly able to deliver its promises. The US government sanctioned the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.