Tehran, Iran – In a controversial move, the Iranian government has announced plans to establish a treatment clinic for women who do not comply with the country’s mandatory hijab laws. According to Mehri Talebi Darestani, head of the Women and Family Department at the Tehran Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the clinic aims to offer “scientific and psychological treatment” for those who choose to remove their hijabs.
This initiative has sparked significant backlash from Iranian women and various human rights groups, who find the measure oppressive and alarming. British-Iranian journalist Sima Sabet, who survived an assassination attempt attributed to Iran last year, criticized the clinic as a troubling development that segregates and punishes women for their personal choices.
Human rights lawyer Hossein Raeesi echoed these concerns, stating that such a clinic is outside the bounds of both Islamic and Iranian law. The Women and Family Department’s direct report to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei further intensifies the scrutiny surrounding this initiative.
The announcement has resonated widely, inciting fear and defiance among the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest groups and female student communities across Iran. One Iranian woman, requesting anonymity, vehemently opposed the clinic, equating it to a prison focused on controlling women over trivialities while the country faces larger socio-economic challenges.
The timing of this news follows recent incidents highlighting the government’s stringent enforcement of the hijab law. A university student in Tehran who protested her treatment by campus security was subsequently placed in a psychiatric facility. Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, report that such measures often involve coercion, including torture and forced medication.
Advocacy groups continue to report a worrying trend of arrests, forced disappearances, and the suppression of businesses accused of violating dress codes. Just last week, the Center for Human Rights in Iran brought attention to Roshanak Molaei Alishah, a 25-year-old woman detained after an altercation involving hijab-related harassment. Her current status remains unknown.
As these developments unfold, the international community watches closely, concerned about the implications of such policies on women’s rights and freedoms in Iran. The establishment of a hijab removal treatment clinic not only challenges the personal freedoms of Iranian women but may also set a concerning precedent for handling civil disobedience and personal expression within the nation.
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