Criticism of the Interior Minister's 'Lying' About Metro Hijab Monitors Continues

As criticism of the Interior Minister's remarks about the 'spontaneous' presence of hijab monitors in the metro increases, a political party in Iran has accused him of 'lying.' Meanwhile, the renowned director Rokhsareh Bani-Etemad appeared in public without mandatory hijab at a memorial event. The Nedaye Iranians party criticized Ahmad Vahidi, the Interior Minister, in a letter to the head of the judiciary for his 'dangerous innovation' in issuing 'secret' instructions for the deployment of hijab monitors and his 'lying' about it. This reformist party asked Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, 'Which is a greater and more unforgivable sin: lying or not wearing hijab?' The party also questioned, 'Which undermines the foundations of a society like termites and increases distrust: the lying of a political official or a girl without a scarf?' Following Ahmad Vahidi's claim of ignorance regarding the presence of hijab monitors in the metro, the newspaper Etemad published part of his 'very confidential' directive on this matter on Sunday, December 5. In this directive dated June 9 of this year, Vahidi had called for the establishment of hijab monitors in the metro as part of measures against women without mandatory hijab. The publication of this document prompted the Tehran prosecutor to immediately file a complaint against the Etemad newspaper and initiate a legal case. Simultaneously, several media outlets and political and media activists have called for the 'impeachment' and 'resignation' of Ahmad Vahidi from the 'post of Minister of Interior.' Mohammad Mahjari, a political activist close to conservatives, called for the minister's resignation in a note on his Telegram channel, stating, 'Mr. Ahmad Vahidi! The experience of the past two years has shown that you are not a man of politics, and the post of Minister of Interior has been a melon peel under your feet. Resign.' Behrouz Azizi, a journalist, also called for Vahidi's 'impeachment' by the Islamic Consultative Assembly. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter), 'If the revolutionary parliament were truly the house of the nation, it should have urgently impeached the Minister of Interior for this lie! Does someone who lies about a marginal issue like hijab have the competence to hold elections?' The newspaper Etemad previously wrote on Tuesday, December 6, 'The minister should not speak to his people contrary to what he has done, especially in these times when the heavy burden of inflation and sanctions has bent the backs of Iranian families.' Amid rising criticism of the government's treatment of opponents of mandatory hijab, the renowned director Rokhsareh Bani-Etemad attended a mourning ceremony for the late actress Beita Farahi without mandatory hijab. Ms. Bani-Etemad had previously criticized the government's suppression of protesters by appearing without mandatory hijab during last year's nationwide protests. On the other hand, human rights sources have reported the arrest of Niloufar Ghazaleh and Mohammad Ali Moqimi (Rahab), a couple active in the tourism sector, in Isfahan. No information has been released about the charges or their place of detention. According to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, Niloufar Ghazaleh had previously been sentenced to five years in prison for 'publishing photos without hijab.' Amnesty International recently stated in a statement that mandatory hijab in Iran is a tool for 'widespread and systematic violations of the human rights of women and girls' and criticized it. This organization called on countries around the world to hold Iranian officials accountable for 'ordering, planning, and widespread and systematic violations of the human rights of women and girls' through the enforcement of mandatory hijab.