Legal Cases Formed Against Baran Kowsari and Shaghayegh Dehghan Due to Opposition to Mandatory Hijab

The Fars news agency reported that a legal case has been formed against Baran Kowsari for her appearance without a hijab at the funeral of Hesam Mahmoudi. The Tasnim news agency also reported that a legal case has been formed against Shaghayegh Dehghan, a cinema and television actress, who recently appeared without a hijab at a publication event. The formation of legal cases against Baran Kowsari and Shaghayegh Dehghan, two Iranian cinema actresses, is part of the ongoing crackdown on optional hijab. Previously, legal cases had been formed against other female actresses, including Afsaneh Bayegan, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Pantea Bahram, and Katayoun Riahi, and sent to judicial authorities. Recently, at the screening of the series 'Poost-e Shir', Pantea Bahram, a prominent Iranian actress, appeared without a mandatory hijab. According to the website 'Hrana', affiliated with human rights activists in Iran, a summons was issued to this actress on May 7, and she must appear within five days to defend against the charges at Branch 4 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. Prior to that, Katayoun Riahi, another prominent Iranian actress who has appeared several times without a hijab at various events in recent months, reported being summoned to two different courts. Riahi published two summonses on her Instagram on Friday, one summoning her to Branch 1099 of the Criminal Court 2 of the Tehran Judicial Complex and the other to Branch 4 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. In one of these summonses, the report from 'agents and evidence presented' regarding her appearance without a hijab in public was cited as the reason for the summons. The Tehran prosecutor stated last Wednesday that following the support of some artists for opponents of the mandatory hijab and their refusal to comply with government dress regulations, several cinema actresses have been summoned, and if they do not appear before the prosecutor's office within the legal timeframe, they will be arrested. Ali Salehi described the charges against these actresses as 'actions and behaviors outside of Islamic norms and values.' This judicial authority threatened some of the summoned figures who have not yet appeared before judicial authorities with arrest. Reza Kianian, an actor, referred to not wearing a headscarf as a citizen's right in his speech at a memorial for Attila Pessiani. In recent days, women including Bayegan, Motamed-Arya, Bahram, Riahi, and Adineh have appeared without a mandatory hijab at artistic events, which has been well received by Iranian users on social media. Following Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's speech on April 4, where he declared hijablessness as 'politically and religiously forbidden,' Iranian officials intensified their crackdown on opponents of the mandatory hijab. Numerous videos and images have been published of women in various cities of Iran moving in public without the mandatory hijab, indicating the failure of the Iranian government's actions in this regard. Two actresses have been accused of 'unveiling' and 'disturbing public opinion.' Reactions to Afsaneh Bayegan's appearance without a hijab at the House of Artists with lion and sun earrings continue. The crackdown on opponents of the mandatory hijab continues, with legal cases formed against Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram. Pantea Bahram's appearance without a mandatory hijab at an artistic event led to the closure of Lotus Cinema.