Deputy Speaker of Parliament Defends 'Noor Plan'; Prince Reza Pahlavi: 'Organized Assault' Against Women

The head of the Cultural Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly claimed that the 'Noor Plan' for enforcing mandatory hijab in Iran is on a 'correct and good path,' despite numerous reports of violent behavior from government forces. In contrast, Prince Reza Pahlavi described this action as an 'organized assault' and a 'mob invasion of the Islamic regime against women.' According to the Mehr news agency, Morteza Aghatehrani stated on Tuesday, April 23, that the 'revolutionary parliament' has thus far been 'committed' to enforcing mandatory hijab and expressed hope that it would continue to do so in the future. These remarks come amid multiple personal accounts of harassment, particularly against women, by government agents that have been shared on social media in recent days, with several women also being arrested. Meanwhile, Prince Reza Pahlavi characterized the 'new wave of mob invasions by the Islamic regime against women in the streets to impose mandatory hijab' as indicative of the regime's increasing fear, desperation, and fragility both domestically and internationally. In a statement published on social media on Monday, April 22, he noted that the Islamic Republic has become more isolated and despised among the Iranian people and the world following the majority's boycott of the election circus, the failed missile attacks on Israel, and the inability to defend the country's airspace, as well as the economic misery stemming from deep-rooted corruption and incompetence. He referred to the Islamic Republic as an 'Iranophobic regime' and emphasized that the purpose of the 'fearful leader' behind this street invasion is to instill fear in the hearts of women who challenge the regime daily with their resistance against mandatory hijab. He praised the 'bravery of Iranian women' and called on Iranian men to stand with their sisters, mothers, daughters, and all women in Iran and defend them. Prince Reza Pahlavi also described 'defending Iranian women' as a 'human and national duty' and added, 'Those who harm Iranian women in this organized assault are enemies: your enemy and Iran's enemy.' He further stated, 'In this path, those who rise to defend Iranian women follow in the footsteps of a long line of eternal heroes throughout our glorious history; heroes who stood against aggressors and were the eternal guard of Iran to keep the soil and name of Iran eternal.' Earlier, Narges Mohammadi, a jailed human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, called on 'every single person inside and outside the country' to 'shout against war, assault, and beating women' in a voice message from Evin Prison on Sunday, April 21. In this voice message, she added, 'For years we have witnessed the accounts of women who have endured harassment and violence by government agents; however, today the authoritarian religious government, not from a position of power but out of desperation, has brought a full-scale war against all women to every street in the country.' Nasrin Shakeri, the mother of Nika Shakeri, a teenager killed during the nationwide protests in 2021, described how agents 'dragged her daughter Aida on the asphalt with violence and brutality during her arrest,' while Aida cried out, 'What do you want from us? You killed my sister Nika. You have blackened and ruined our lives. What more do you want?' According to Nasrin Shakeri, the agents 'forced Aida into a van' while one of them 'scratched her face and insulted Nika.' She also stated, 'The criminals and disgraceful figures in the satanic republic steal people's property by any means possible and are busy enjoying life while my Aida is in prison for her innocence.' Nasrin Shakeri questioned, 'Has there ever been a more vile, filthy, and oppressive government than the satanic republic in history that has inflicted so much oppression, assault, and betrayal on its own people?' In another account, a user named Mahta shared her experience with the police while she was out with friends at Chitgar Lake, where three male officers and one female officer stopped them and 'rudely insulted' the student girls, pushing them towards a van with physical contact. Mahta recounted that a 'colonel' from the police 'shoved her with insults' and another officer 'hit her hard,' causing her 'left hand to swell and experience strange pain,' while one officer told her, 'You could have just put on your hijab for a moment and then taken it off again.' According to this user, she and her friends, one of whom had a heart condition, were 'detained for two hours in a van where it was hard to breathe' and were later released 'with the mediation of a female officer.' Despite numerous reports of 'sexual harassment,' 'physical contact' by male officers with women, and verbal and physical violence against women by the suppression forces of optional hijab, the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, claimed that the report by Diba Ghalibaf, a journalist, regarding 'sexual harassment' was incorrect. This report stated that 'a new judicial case was opened against this arrested journalist for false claims,' asserting that 'Dina Ghalibaf denied the claim of assault,' while the journalist had spoken about 'sexual harassment' and not 'assault.' Masih Alinejad, a women's rights activist and journalist, shared images of civil resistance by women against government forces suppressing optional hijab, quoting a woman who sent her the video, stating that 'despite the sexual harassment by the agents' towards Dina Ghalibaf, she insists on showing that 'Dina is not alone.' In a message in English on X, she wrote that she receives videos 'every day' from women inside Iran courageously stating that they refuse to comply with the recent order from Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding hijab adherence. Since April 14, the Islamic Republic has deployed its police and plainclothes forces in various cities under the new crackdown on women's optional hijab called the 'Noor Plan,' but despite widespread arrests, civil resistance continues against it. In response to the increasing pressure on women in Iran by the government, Robert Gilchrist, a senior official in the 'Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor' office of the U.S. State Department, expressed concern on Monday about the worsening human rights record of the Islamic Republic, emphasizing that the human rights situation, particularly women's rights in Iran, has 'deteriorated.'