Narges Mohammadi: Women's Defiance Will Overcome the Authoritarian Power of the Religious Government

Narges Mohammadi, a imprisoned human rights activist, described the mandatory hijab as a "governmental misogynistic conspiracy" and emphasized that women's "defiance" will "break the authoritarian power of the religious government." In a post published on her Instagram page on Saturday, July 22, she characterized the mandatory hijab as a tool of "authoritarian governance" for "expanding repression" and "eliminating women from the public sphere," urging the entire Iranian society not to remain indifferent to it. This imprisoned human rights activist rejected the Iranian government's claim about "preserving women's dignity" by covering their hair and called for the removal of the mandatory hijab as a step against the government's "repression" and a move towards "realizing women's rights." Narges Mohammadi also stated that the "power of defiance" by women against compliance with the mandatory hijab will lead to the defeat of the "authoritarian power of the religious government." The imprisoned spokesperson for the Human Rights Defenders Center also evaluated the choice of optional attire as a means to escape from "violence" and "discrimination" and to achieve "freedom" and "human rights." Narges Mohammadi deemed the Islamic Republic's "hard struggle" to enforce the mandatory hijab as fruitless and emphasized that the government "has no hope for its outcome." Narges Mohammadi, 51, who is considered a staunch defender of human rights in Iran, has a long history of enduring imprisonment and severe punishments such as torture and solitary confinement, and is currently serving her 16-year prison sentence in Evin Prison. Narges Mohammadi rejected the summons to the Evin Prosecutor's Office "in her fifth case."