Nasrin Sotoudeh Says She Met Her Husband Without Mandatory Hijab in Evin Prison

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer, claims she met her husband Reza Khandan, who has recently been imprisoned in Evin Prison, without the mandatory hijab. On Wednesday, January 5, she posted on Instagram that during this meeting, she challenged prison officials regarding the enforcement of the hijab law, stating, "If it is mandatory, I will go back." Sotoudeh further explained that her husband responded to the prison guard's request for her to wear a hijab by saying, "I cannot force her to wear a hijab; if you want, she says she will go back." She described this reaction by saying, "Reza is in prison for this action. It is clear that women fight alone wherever necessary, but having Reza with his honesty in his work made me think how good it is to have him beside us." Reza Khandan went on a hunger strike in protest against the conditions in Evin Prison's ward 8. This human rights activist also reported that it was the third day of her husband's hunger strike and described his condition in prison, saying, "As usual, Reza Khandan was in his usual spirit and was more cheerful than ever in the visiting hall." Reza Khandan was arrested by the Islamic Republic's security forces on Friday, December 23, 2023. After her husband's arrest, Sotoudeh told Radio Farda, "Mr. Khandan went to prison to serve a sentence from 2018, while he had been pardoned in this case, and this action by the Evin Prosecutor's Office is illegal." Previously, Narges Mohammadi, a political prisoner and Nobel Prize winner, had also been seen multiple times without the mandatory hijab while being taken to the hospital from prison. Videos released show that she also did not have the mandatory covering when temporarily released from Evin Prison. Following the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, women's struggle against the mandatory hijab has taken an unprecedented public and practical form, and several prominent figures are refusing to wear mandatory coverings at official events.