Mandatory Hijab; Judiciary Forms Case Against 'Taqche' Employees

While the security and law enforcement agencies continue to confront opponents of mandatory hijab in Iran, reports indicate that a judicial case has been formed against employees of the 'Taqche' company. According to Fars News Agency, 'Following the publication of images on social media regarding the non-compliance with hijab by female employees of Taqche in the workplace, a judicial case has been formed in this regard.' Taqche is a company active in the book sector that has recently come under pressure from government-affiliated entities to shut down due to the publication of images of its employees without mandatory hijab on social media. Hamid Khalili, the director of 'Shahid Kazemi Publishing,' which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, announced in a letter to Amir Hossein Latifi, the manager of the 'Taqche' platform, that this publishing house no longer has 'legal and religious legitimacy' to continue cooperation with them and will 'terminate the existing contract.' This publishing manager, affiliated with government institutions, also stated in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that an image of Taqche employees was published on social media showing 'women without hijab.' Taqche is a product of 'Golden Idea Contemporary Services' and a digital platform for users to access audio versions of books and publications that have been authorized for publication and ISBN in Iran. On the other hand, a source informed the Persian section of 'Voice of America' that the actions against this platform were carried out 'in a coordinated and targeted manner,' and several publishing houses affiliated with various government sectors have announced 'non-cooperation' with Taqche. According to him, 'numerous calls' were made by individuals and groups from a 'specific current' to several publishing houses and other service providers to join the list of 'non-cooperation' with this platform and similar non-governmental businesses due to 'non-compliance with religious and legal decorum by female employees.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Mahdi Esmaeili, the Minister of Culture of the Islamic Republic, also reacted to this issue, referring to similar cases of government action against opponents of mandatory hijab in the fields of culture and art, stating that the 'Center for the Development of Culture and Art in Cyberspace' is responsible for addressing the Taqche platform issue. In recent days, the holding of the 13th Short Film Academy Awards in Iran (ISFA) was also halted by direct order from the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance. In a statement from the Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the reason for this incident was stated as 'the incompatibility of the poster of the 13th edition of this event with hijab law'; the content of the poster featured a photo of 'Sousan Taslimi,' a well-known Iranian actress in the film 'The Death of Yazdgerd.' The administrative building of the online sales platform 'Digikala' was also temporarily sealed by Islamic Republic police on Sunday, August 1, due to 'the hijab of female employees.' The sealing of the Digikala administrative building occurred after Mezan, the judiciary news agency, reported on Saturday night, July 31, the formation of 'a judicial case regarding the hijab of female employees in one of Digikala's sections.' In recent months, the cultural, law enforcement, and security agencies of the Islamic Republic have increased their actions to reduce the volume of widespread protests and break the civil resistance of Iranian women against mandatory hijab. Nevertheless, numerous reports of continued civil disobedience by opponents of mandatory hijab are published daily. Humiliation of women to impose mandatory hijab on the eve of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death. One of the rulings related to hijab was violated; the Supreme Court: the court's reasoning is incorrect. New details from the 'Chastity and Hijab' bill; women, media affiliates, and shopkeepers are at risk of accusations. Tajzadeh: Khamenei is responsible for the return of the morality police. Strange directive from the Baharestan investigator: journalists must file cases with welfare and forensic medicine. A request from a member of the Assembly of Experts to deal with 'unveiled women'; Iran: heavy fines are on the way.