2023-09-21 05:01:00
The Iranian Parliament approved this Wednesday a law that toughens sanctions against women who refuse to wear the Islamic veil in public, four days before the first anniversary of the death of a young woman arrested for wearing it incorrectly.
The “Law to Support the Culture of Chastity and Hijab” was ratified by a small judicial and cultural commission behind closed doors in mid-August and deputies recently voted in favor of its application for a three-year trial period. , reported the Mizan agency. The motion was approved with 152 votes in favor, 34 against and seven abstentions of the total of 201 deputies present.
The legislative text must now be ratified by the Council of Guardians, a body composed of 12 members, six jurists and six clerics, which reviews the legislation adopted by Parliament and has the power to veto the decisions of the hemicycle.
The sanctions
The law establishes punishments for women who appear without a headscarf in public, such as fines of up to $2,000, prison sentences of five to ten years, the confiscation of cars and a driving ban, as well as reductions in wages, job benefits or a ban. to access banking services.
The penalties do not only affect women who do not cover themselves, but women and girls who show “nudity of any part of the body or wear thin or tight clothing” in public spaces or on social networks will also be punished. use of torn pants, short sleeves or shorts, among others, and establishes the dismissal of workers who fail to comply with these rules.
In early September, United Nations (UN) experts described the law as “a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to govern through systematic discrimination intended to force women and girls to total submission.”
The text was approved four days after the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, after being detained by the police for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women. According to authorities, the young woman suffered cardiac arrest while she was in custody and, although she was immediately taken to a hospital, she died three days later. Her death sparked strong protests, led mostly by women, who for months called for the end of the Islamic Republic. Since then, there have been more than 500 deaths due to repression and 22,000 detainees.
#Iran #toughens #sanctions #women #wear #Islamic #veil #Includes #fines #sentences #ten #years #prison
