"Anyone who violates any religious taboo in public in addition to being punished for what has been done should also be imprisoned for a period of 10 days to 2 months or should suffer physical punishment (74 lashes)." So reads Article 638 of Iran's Penal Code, which was introduced to ensure respect for the ethics and values of Islam as deduced from Sharia interpretation.
A note to the article deals directly and particularly with women and specifies that wearing the hijab incorrectly or not wearing it at all is to be considered a violation of a religious taboo, thus carrying the same penalties as mentioned above. A whole note dedicated to women to their dress; a whole note that further emphasizes how they are deprived of freedoms and protections.
A note that also undermines their safety, as it allows the moral police to intervene with economic or physical sanctions, up to and including imprisonment, against women who are found to be immoral and disrespectful; an intervention that often seems to result from all too discretionary and arbitrary detections. The days of the wake where wearing the veil was a symbol of opposition to the ongoing process of Westernization, a symbol of women's freedom of choice to identify with their own culture, are now over.
Khomeini's 1979 religious revolution, which led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has led women to a state of marginalization and subjugation, with gradual abolitions of rights, guarantees and protections. Despite Iran's participation in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the country pursues discriminatory policies, often resulting in charges for violation of fundamental rights. This was further aggravated by the government's failure to sign the Convention Against All Discrimination Against Women, a choice that confirmed the government's clear position in relation to gender rights.
But the icing on the cake has been the succession to power of ultraconservative and radical presidents who have allowed the insertion of legislation and regulations against freedom of demonstration, choice and opposition, introducing violent repression policies such as corporal punishment, inhibiting all forms of activism.
However, the soul of Iranian society as a whole, both women and men, seems to have been awakened and inflamed on September 14, 2022, when there was a clamor to overcome traditional religious laws and interpretations for a future of change and openness.
Last September 14 represented the beginning of what could be a true internal revolution, although it resulted in a terrible first consequence: on that same day Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old girl, was imprisoned on charges of improperly wearing the hijab. An imprisonment justified by that famous note to Article 638, which would also seem to have legitimized the subsequent police violence against the young girl. This punishment is prescribed by law and therefore considered lawful.
Two days after her capture, Mahsa died in a hospital bed. Images of the young girl clearly show the marks of the beating on her frail body, guilty only of letting a lock of hair loose in the wind. According to reports from the medical team and the government, Mahsa died of hypoxia, due to a past surgery, a justification implausible neither to her family members nor to the entire society, from Iranian to global.
The images of the suffering girl, which literally went around the world in a short time, triggered a chain of protests and demonstrations, online and offline: strikes, street demonstrations, symbolic but strong acts that are cracking the stability of the ruling government. Iranian women are cutting their hair and burning their veils in the wind as a sign of protest, often protected by men who have decided to no longer stand by and watch the repression of the religious police, instead offering their bodies as shields. In the rest of the world, women and men of all ages have joined the cry of struggle and demands with online campaigns and street demonstrations, acts that, despite the distance, make Iranian activists feel less alone.
Mahsa's story seems to have awakened the will to struggle, spreading courage and hope for a future of change, which, however, is slow in coming. Indeed, the government seems unwilling to take on board the demands of the people, continuing its repressive policy, lashing out at activists and protesters, going so far as to carry out massacres and thousands of imprisonments. Many have already lost their lives, and Mahsa's name is joined by the names of others and other young people who like her just wanted to be free.
The burned veils and cut hair are becoming the symbol of Iranian society's struggle along with Mahsa Amini's photo that accompanies protesters every day in the streets and squares. The veils free in the wind as a symbol of a revolution calling for a future where the hijab is no longer seen as an obligation, an imposition, but rather as the consequence of a free and serene daily choice.
Translated by Flora Stanziola
The sources used in the preparation of this publication are freely available:
https://www.internazionale.it/magazine/2022/09/22/in-memoria-di-mahsa-amini
https://www.ilpost.it/2022/09/23/breve-storia-del-velo-islamico-in-iran/
https://www.ilpost.it/2022/09/24/quando-nata-come-funziona-polizia-religiosa-iran/
https://www.amnesty.it/appelli/iran-proteggere-il-diritto-di-protesta/
https://www.equalitynow.org/discriminatory_law iran_the_islamic_penal_code_of_2013_books_i_ii_and_v/
https://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?reldoc=y&docid=52b812384
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L'Autore
Arianna Amodio
Arianna Amodio, classe 2001, iscritta al terzo anno della Triennale di Scienze delle Relazioni Internazionali dell'Università Statale di Milano, é autrice per la sezione di Diritti Umani del MIPost. Interessata a questioni inerenti in particolare alla tutela dei diritti umani e a progetti di peace building, aspira ad una carriera giornalistica.
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Iran rivoluzione hijab