Directive Linking Medical Care To Hijab Sparks Backlash In Iran
The circulation of a letter to hospitals requiring strict hijab for medical services in northern Iran has sparked strong public reactions.
The circulation of a letter to hospitals requiring strict hijab for medical services in northern Iran has sparked strong public reactions.
The letter, signed by Mohammad Taqi Najafzadeh, Director of the health and treatment network in Lahijan city to the heads of local hospitals, has ignited a significant reaction on social media platforms.
In the directive, Najafzadeh unequivocally states that medical centers and health workers must abide by the hijab regulations set forth by the authorities. The letter, however, leaves the crucial question unanswered regarding the medical service protocol in emergency situations, where immediate care may be required irrespective of the patient's observance of hijab.
The publication of this directive has garnered diverse reactions, with notable figures and netizens expressing their concerns. Abbas Abdi, a political activist closely associated with the reformist movement, held both the government and the Ministry of Health accountable for endorsing such a measure. In a tweet, he remarked, "That doctor, being a government administrator, and the ministry, endorsing such an anti-human violation, amid the government's silence, should be held accountable."
Drawing historical analogies, another user likened the directive to the "darkest days of church supremacy" during the Middle Ages when religious decrees were imposed on societal matters.
Critics on Twitter also viewed this directive as a breach of the “medical oath," emphasizing the importance of providing medical services without discrimination or coercion.
Saeed Maliki, a journalist, went a step further and compared the authorities' action to that of ISIS, drawing parallels between the enforcement of hijab observance and the tactics used by the extremist group to force people to abide by its strict interpretation of Sharia law.
It is important to note that this is not the first instance where the issue of observing the hijab has affected medical services in Iran. Following the Women, Life, Freedom protests and the advent of women's movements, reports have emerged of medical centers and hospitals postponing care unless hijab regulations are strictly adhered to.
Earlier this month, an Iranian female medical staff member was subjected to a series of punishments, including performing "cleaning services," for not complying with the mandatory hijab. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on July 14 that the judicial authority of the Islamic Republic sentenced her to a ban on employment and cleaning services due to her alleged failure to observe hijab while driving.
Amidst the challenges, a segment of the medical community sought to voice civil protests against these governmental pressures. In March, following an institution's order for compulsory black veiling for women in pharmacies, some pharmacist doctors and male technicians showed their anger by wearing black veils.
The Iranian government employs such punishments with the aim of suppressing opponents of the mandatory hijab. However, reports suggest that these punitive measures have not succeeded in quelling protests, and studies indicate an increase in the emigration of Iranian doctors and nurses in recent months.
Khabar Online website has quoted Iranian lawyer Omid Salimi-Bani as saying that the text of one ambiguous article shows the government is planning to monitor people's lifestyle to make sure that they adhere to its Islamic standards.
The lawyer said it is up to every individual to be or not be religious. But it seems the government even wants to monitor people's shopping and travel. He likened the plan to the Big Brother in George Orwell's novel 1984. He added that some of what the government is planning to do has been branded as "crime" in the Law Against Computer Crimes.
Salimi-Bani further said that the plan violates several articles of the Iranian Constitutional Law about citizens' privacy.
Meanwhile, Khabar Online also quoted lawmaker Jalal Rashidi Koochaki as saying "Why the government should want to know whether the people are spiritual? What is it good for? Why the government wants to monitor people's lifestyle?"
He criticized the plan's security approach where it says that "The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance should continuously monitor cultural aspects of people's life and their lifestyles in order to pave the way for research." Koochaki reiterated that this part of the plan is an elaborate violation of people's privacy.
Another Iranian lawyer, Hamid Reza Aghababaeian told Khabar Online, "No individual or organization is allowed to invade people's privacy with the pretext of collecting information for research." He added that it violates articles 22 to 25 of the Human Rights Charter. He also said that collecting such data without permission from the court and the police and security forces is illegal.
He reminded that, based on the Iranian Penal Code, only judges are allowed to request the monitoring of people's private data.
In another development, Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib told reporters that his ministry is considering to intervene several judiciary cases about the people's "mental or psychological security on social media.,” probably referring to a recent trend to label dissidents a threat to people’s mental wellbeing.
Asked if he did monitor social media, Khatib said: "If I do not monitor social media, then I cannot be the Minister of Intelligence." Responding to the question whether he would allow his children and grandchildren to be active in social media on their smart phones, the minister said: "We have agreed with my children that they should only use Iranian social media platforms."
Iranian social media applications are notorious for collecting and abusing people's private data, both for commercial and government intelligence purposes.
The Islamic Republic has banned all foreign social media applications, because it is afraid of the free flow of information and the likelihood of people organizing opposition using Facebook or Twitter.
Reports this week quoted hardliner commentator Mohammad Sadeq Kooshki as saying that "Instagram has become a venue to recruit terrorists." Kooshki added: "Unfortunately, social media platform including Instagram are not lawful in Iran. Terrorists can contact and recruit people on social media, so, Israeli and European intelligence agents do not need to meet people face to face for recruitment."
The government has banned foreign social media platforms in Iran, however, millions of Iranians use them by circumventing government restrictions by VPN (Virtual Private Networks) also known in Iran as filter breakers.
Earlier this week, the Biden Administration announced that some of Iran’s frozen funds in Iraq will go to Oman, acting as a conduit to release the money for purchasing non-sanctionable goods under US supervision. Iraq owes Iran around $11 billion for imports of gas and electricity, but US banking sanctions prohibit dollar transactions with Iran. In June, the US agreed to make $2.7 billion available for Iran’s humanitarian needs.
Despite this development, the Iranian currency, the rial, has not shown improvement and continues to trade at around 500,000 rials per US dollar, as its value has drastically depreciated in the past year.
Businessman Masoud Daneshmand expressed doubts about the impact of the released funds, stating that the Iranian government would not receive any cash directly. Instead, after Iran purchases goods like wheat, it can present invoices, and Oman will release the money following US verification. Hence, the government will not have additional funds to impact the currency market.
Others, however, disagree with this perspective. Some argue that any released funds, even for food and medicine, could free up other foreign currencies for purposes such as supporting armed proxy groups in the region or producing military equipment such as drones that are supplied to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Amidst the ongoing economic crisis, Iran’s annual inflation is estimated to be somewhere between 50-70 percent, in the absence of reliable figures. However, what is certain is that food prices have risen much faster. Media and even regime politicians have been saying for months that food price inflation is around 100 percent.
Nevertheless, Ahmad Kimiyai, an economist, believes that the release of frozen funds, though not in cash dollars, is still beneficial. It allows some assets to enter the country despite sanctions and can be used for humanitarian imports, addressing shortages of food and medicine.
However, he said it is much better that the money can be used for humanitarian imports instead of cash transfers. “This is better than if the money reached the government, because it might be tempted to do populist acts,” referring to cash handout schemes to the population.
“Now we are certain that goods will be imported that can reach the people’s dinner tables,” and help with shortages of medicine, Kimiyai said.
On the other hand, businessman Kamran Soltanizadeh, who is the head of Iran’s currency exchangers indirectly criticized government propaganda highlighting that the US has released the frozen funds. He argued that there has been no official statement about exactly how much, when and how funds have been released.
He also stressed that the Iranian government is injecting dollars and other hard currencies into the forex market to support the rial, and if it were not for these interventions, the national currency would have fallen further.