Dadban: 'Guidance Patrol' Officers Harass Opponents of Mandatory Hijab and Their Families

The legal consulting website 'Dadban' has reported on the 'harassment and mistreatment' of detainees opposing mandatory hijab and their families by 'Guidance Patrol' officers. The report states that after detaining women opposing mandatory hijab, government officers force them to remove their hijab again for the purpose of 'taking high-quality photos,' and then require them to confirm and sign these photos. Dadban described this action as a form of 'case fabrication and forced confession' and emphasized that the detention of women due to optional clothing is 'completely illegal.' According to this legal consulting and education center, another tactic used by government officers to pressure the families of these women is to force detainees to make phone calls to their families, then abruptly cut off the calls, creating 'severe anxiety and psychological pressure' for the families of the detainees. Dadban stressed that forcing women to contact their families effectively constitutes 'psychological torture and harassment' against the families of the detainees. While the bill known as 'Chastity and Hijab' has not yet become law, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, issued a new directive on April 22, calling on the 'promoters of virtue'—previously described as 'fire at will'—to confront what he termed 'religious norm-breaking.' Hours after this order, the Islamic Republic's police announced that they would implement a plan to combat women's optional clothing under the 'Noor Plan' starting from April 25. Despite the widespread detentions and the deployment of government forces in various cities to suppress opponents of mandatory hijab, civil disobedience among women continues. The repression of women under the pretext of enforcing mandatory hijab has faced widespread criticism from human rights organizations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a statement in May, highlighting the increasing repression of women and girls in Iran for 'defying' mandatory hijab laws and calling for more sanctions against Islamic Republic officials, including security officials. The Minister of Interior defended the violent actions of the 'Noor Plan' officers, stating that the police acted according to regulations. Zahra Rahnavard described the mandatory hijab in Iran as a 'dictatorial order' and 'fabricated.' The reactions to the beating and injury of women by officers indicate that the recurrence of violence is not an individual error. The 'Chastity and Hijab' bill is on the verge of implementation, with even defenders of the Islamic Republic admitting that there is no support for hijab among government officials.