Narges Mohammadi Supports Women's Right to Choose Their Attire

Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned vice president of the Human Rights Defenders Center, stated that "the choice of attire is a right of women" and emphasized that "the government should not impose its standards on society in the name of religion to reinforce its authority." In a note published on the Human Rights Defenders Center's website on Monday, February 5, she criticized that "for years, women's attire has been a tool for rulers to dominate society, consolidate power, and showcase tyranny." Currently serving a 16-year sentence in Evin Prison, she wrote: "For four decades, the government's efforts to dominate women have included controlling the color of our socks and shoes in schools, the shape of our eyebrows and facial hair in universities, the color and length of our coats in the streets, leggings, and even our deepest feelings in love, even in the corners of our homes, turning our lives into a playground for government men who, in the name of religion, have destroyed the sense of femininity, vitality, and love in successive generations." This imprisoned human rights activist noted that "from the very first days, women protested against the government's misogynistic policies, including the obligation for women to wear hijabs," adding: "These days, women are not humiliating the attire of others, but rather protesting against the humiliation and imposition upon themselves by placing scarves on sticks to signify that the imposition and humiliation evident in 'scarf on a stick' is akin to the humiliation and imposition of 'mandatory hijab on Iranian women' by the authoritarian government." In another part of her note, she wrote: "People—whether religious or non-religious, whether men or women—have come to understand that having or not having a scarf is not a criterion for religiosity and modesty, nor is it considered a value; it is a personal matter." Public protests against mandatory hijab began in December with the release of a video showing a young woman publicly protesting the mandatory hijab on Enghelab Street. This woman, known as the "Girl of Enghelab Street," had attached her scarf to a stick and waved it like a flag while standing on a power pole. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist who followed the situation of this woman, announced on February 8 that she had been released. Sotoudeh previously stated that she did not yet know the name of this girl, adding that "she has a 19-month-old child and is 31 years old." Some social media users have identified this woman as "Vida Mohavved," but no other reports have confirmed this. Following this, on February 9, other images circulated on social media showing at least six individuals in Tehran and one in Isfahan repeating this act by climbing power poles. Judiciary officials have severely attacked these women, with Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, stating on Sunday that some of them "had consumed industrial substances." So far, at least 29 citizens protesting against the mandatory hijab have been arrested. However, some members of parliament, including Soheila Jelodarzadeh, have described the protest of these women as a result of "unnecessary constraints," "pressures," and "the government's wrong behavior." Simultaneously, the Strategic Studies Center of the Presidency published the results of two studies indicating an increase in the number of individuals who consider hijab to be optional. Additionally, Mohammad Maljoo, a researcher and economist, examined data from the third "Survey of Values and Attitudes of Iranians" conducted by the National Projects Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in 2015, concluding that this data "loudly indicates that a large majority of Iranians living in the country agree with the demands of the girls of Enghelab Street." According to the website "Political Economy Critique" in Iran, based on this research, which analyzed data from the survey conducted in the months of Shahrivar and Mehr in 2015, over 78% supported optional hijab while nearly 22% supported mandatory hijab. While Nasrin Sotoudeh, the lawyer, reported that three charges have been brought against Narges Hosseini, known as the "second girl of Enghelab Street," lawyer Nemat Ahmadi stated that the bail set for Hosseini and her continued detention "does not correspond to the attributed charge." Ahmadi wrote in a note in the Tuesday, February 5, issue of Shargh newspaper that the 500 million tomans bail set for Hosseini and her continued detention "does not correspond to the attributed charge unless other charges have been brought against the accused in the indictment." According to this lawyer, based on the provision under Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, the punishment for women who appear in public without proper hijab is imprisonment for 10 days to two months or a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 rials, meaning the court can sentence the accused to either of the two punishments: a maximum of two months imprisonment or a fine of up to 50,000 tomans. Nasrin Sotoudeh wrote on her Facebook page on Saturday, February 14, that the charges announced against Narges Hosseini by the prosecutor surprised her and Arash Keykhosravi, another lawyer for Hosseini. According to Sotoudeh, three charges of "inciting corruption," "failure to observe proper hijab," and "displaying a forbidden act" were brought against her client. This lawyer also mentioned that Hosseini was taken to the prosecutor's office with a "flower-patterned chador" and that the agents "threatened her that if she did not wear the chador, they would prevent her from being sent to the court session." Sotoudeh had previously stated in an interview with Radio Farda that a "500 million tomans bail" had been issued for "Narges Hosseini" after her arrest, and she has taken on the representation of this young woman.