Iran hijab bill: Women who dress inappropriately risk ten years in prison

Iran’s government recently approved a new law that makes it possible for women and girls who violate the country’s strict dress code to face longer jail sentences and bigger fines.

People who dress “inappropriately” might go to jail for up to 10 years with this new law. The law will be tested for three years.

The law is not approved yet. It needs to be approved by the Guardian Council.

The decision was made a year after people protested when Mahsa Amini died while in custody of the morality police. She was held because they believed she was wearing her hijab incorrectly.

During the protests against the religious leaders, women either burned their headscarves or lifted them in the air. These demonstrations happened all across the country and it is said that many people were killed by the security forces.

More and more women and girls are choosing to not wear a headscarf in public anymore, even though the moral police have come back and there are security cameras now.

According to Iranian law, which follows the country’s interpretation of Sharia, women and girls who have reached puberty need to wear a hijab to cover their hair and wear loose clothes to hide their bodies.

Right now, if people don’t follow the rules, they might have to go to jail for 10 days to 2 months or pay a fine of 5,000 to 500,000 rials ($0. 10-$1014 at the black market exchange rate).

On Wednesday, lawmakers voted to pass the “Hijab and Chastity Bill” with a majority of 152 to 34. This bill states that individuals who are found wearing clothes considered “inappropriate” in public will face a punishment called the “fourth degree. ”

As per the law, this means a person will be sent to prison for a period of five to ten years and will have to pay a fine ranging from 180 million to 360 million rials ($3,651-$7,302).

The proposed bill suggests that people who show nudity or mock the hijab on social media or in the media might have to pay fines. It also says that if a woman is not wearing a hijab or fitting clothes in a vehicle, the owner of that vehicle might have to pay a fine.

If someone purposely breaks the dress code together with foreign or hostile governments, media, groups or organizations, they could go to jail for five to ten years.

The bill is now going to be sent to the Guardian Council for approval. The Guardian Council is a group of conservative religious leaders and legal experts. They can reject the bill if they think it goes against the constitution and Sharia.

A few weeks ago, a group of experts from the United Nations said that the bill might be seen as a way of treating genders unequally, with the goal of making women and girls completely submissive.

“The proposed law would give harsh punishments to women and girls who don’t follow it. This could result in them being violently forced to comply,” the experts explained.

The bill goes against basic human rights, such as the right to participate in cultural activities, the banning of unfair treatment based on gender, the freedom to express opinions, the right to peacefully protest, and the right to use social, educational, and health services, as well as the freedom to move around.