Iranian judicial authorities announced on Saturday that they had ordered the arrest of two women after a video went viral showing a man attacking them for not wearing a veil. An arrest warrant was also issued against the man “for insulting and disturbing public order”, reported the Mizan Online site, the agency of the judiciary.
In the video widely shared on social networks, we see a man entering a store, shouting at two women without veils and then pouring a pot of what appears to be yogurt over their heads. The person behind the counter then throws him out of the store. An arrest warrant has been issued against “the two women for committing a prohibited act by removing the hijab”, Mizan Online said. “The store owner received a warning (…) so that he complies with the rules (…) of Sharia”, added the site.
The President still calls on women to wear the veil
The incident comes as Iran has been the scene of a crackdown on protests following the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating the strict dress code imposed on women in the Islamic Republic.
Several hundred people including dozens of members of the security forces were killed and thousands more arrested during these demonstrations, generally described by the authorities as “riots”, fomented by Israel and Western countries.
On Saturday again, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi once again called on Iranian women to wear the veil out of “religious obligation”. In late March, the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, warned that anyone who removes the veil would be “punished”.