Iran strengthens headscarf law days after anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death – National | 24CA News
Iran’s parliament on Wednesday accepted a invoice to impose heavier penalties on girls who refuse to put on the obligatory Islamic scarf in public and those that assist them.
The transfer got here simply days after the anniversary of the demise of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old lady who had been detained by the morality police for violating the nation’s gown code. Her demise in custody ignited months of protests through which many referred to as for the overthrow of Iran’s theocracy.
The invoice additionally extends punishments to business house owners who serve girls not carrying the obligatory scarf, often known as hijab, and activists who manage towards it. Violators might resist 10 years in jail if the offense happens in an organized method.
The invoice, which was accepted by 152 lawmakers in Iran’s 290-seat parliament, requires ratification by the Guardian Council, a clerical physique that serves as constitutional watchdog. It would take impact for a preliminary interval of three years.
The demonstrations sparked by Amini’s demise on Sept. 16, 2022, pale early this yr following a heavy crackdown on dissent through which greater than 500 protesters have been killed and over 22,000 detained.
But many ladies continued to flaunt the principles on carrying hijab, prompting a brand new marketing campaign to implement them over the summer time. Iran’s clerical rulers view the hijab regulation as a key pillar of the Islamic Republic and blamed the protests on Western nations, with out offering proof.
The protesters stated they have been motivated by anger over the gown code in addition to what they see because the corruption and poor governance of the nation’s ruling clerics.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, a gunman shot a cleric to demise within the northern Iranian city of Sejas. Police detained the assailant, and authorities stated the motive was a private dispute, based on the semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news companies.
Several clerics have been attacked on the peak of the protests. An armed guard at a financial institution shot and killed a senior Shiite cleric in April.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
