Health Ministry Seeks 'Islamic Cover' for Female Patients: Special Clothing for Operating Rooms, Breastfeeding, and Ultrasound

The Health and Medical Education Ministry of the Islamic Republic announced that based on claims that the current clothing of patients is 'not in accordance with Islamic standards', it has produced 10 'specialized' clothing designs for medical purposes. According to the website 'Didban Iran', Majid Mohammadian, head of the Secretariat for Chastity and Hijab at the Health Ministry, announced on Wednesday, June 6, what he called the 'National Standard and Special Clothing Guidelines for Patients', claiming that this action was taken to ensure the 'psychological security of patients' in public and private healthcare centers. According to this health official, 'the existing clothing of patients does not comply with Islamic standards', and therefore, clothing has been designed and produced for 10 specialized areas including operating room attire, undergarments, pants for colonoscopy, uterine canal ultrasound, breast ultrasound, mammography, special breastfeeding shirts, and hijabs. He stated that guidelines were issued on May 1 by the Treatment Deputy and also by the Cultural and Student Deputy of the Health Ministry to public and private hospitals and healthcare centers, and based on this, 'patients must wear the designated special clothing'. Officials of the Islamic Republic have previously attempted to impose restrictive laws 'based on Sharia standards' on hospitals and clinics, claiming dissatisfaction among women regarding the lack of gender segregation in healthcare centers. The education of men in the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology has been banned in Iran since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, but due to insufficient facilities for complete gender segregation, examinations by male medical staff continue. The gender segregation plan in Iranian hospitals, referred to as 'gender conformity', was proposed in the late 2000s in Parliament to enforce gender segregation in healthcare environments, but in practice, a lack of personnel has hindered its implementation. Shia authorities have prioritized treatment by same-gender practitioners, but have stated that if necessary, patients should accept treatment by 'non-mahram' individuals.