9 Prominent Iranian Political Activists Condemn Mandatory Hijab and Discrimination Against Women in Iran

Nine prominent Iranian political activists and intellectuals issued a statement condemning mandatory hijab as a pretext for "violating the dignity and rights of Iranian women" and called for an end to oppressive policies against women in various personal and social domains. Hashim Aghajari, Zahra Rahnavard, Naser Zarafshan, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Aliyeh Motlabezaadeh, Mostafa Malekian, Farhad Mithaemi, Lotfollah Mithaemi, and Sediqeh Voseqi stated that in "an era where the discourse of equality of human rights regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, belief, and religion has become the central theme of progressive humanity, the Islamic government has invented the issue of hijab to impose double discrimination against women." The signatories of the statement noted that the enforcement of mandatory hijab and the deprivation of women who do not comply from most of their human and civil rights, such as employment, education, and access to social, administrative, and medical services, "has imposed heavy costs on the country and the nation, especially on the dear women and girls of Iran, and has shed blood from Mahsa to Armita over the past year." The statement, while referring to a confidential letter from the Minister of Interior recently revealed by the newspaper Etelaat, stated that this letter "not only exposes the minister's lies but also indicates the adoption of secretive policies that their decision-makers do not dare to accept responsibility for. The coordination of forces from various centers and inter-agency correspondence shows that the phenomenon of hijab enforcement is not a spontaneous and popular movement but rather an organized government policy. This risky and opaque policy not only threatens the lives of citizens but can also be dangerous for the unnamed forces of the government that implement it." The statement concluded, "We, the signatories of this statement, demand an end to all oppressive policies against women in various personal and social domains. We firmly support their demand for optional hijab. We condemn the double oppression imposed on half of society through the enforcement of mandatory hijab." Mansoureh Hosseini Yeganeh, a journalist and women's rights activist, stated in an interview with Voice of America about the importance of this statement that it shows that "the issue of mandatory hijab is the Achilles' heel of the Islamic Republic government." She described this statement as aligned with ongoing protests in the country against mandatory hijab and discrimination and oppression against women. According to this women's rights activist, a very important point in this statement is that "these nine individuals are inside Iran and at risk of arrest and pressure, with some currently free on bail and others even currently in prison." She also emphasized that the authors of this statement "may not agree theoretically and perhaps practically, but they all agree on one thing: condemning mandatory hijab and the systematic discrimination of the government against women in Iran."