Protester Against Mandatory Hijab Arrested in Enghelab Square

Reports circulating on social media indicate that a young woman who removed her hijab in Enghelab Square on Monday, November 7, was arrested by law enforcement. According to published videos, a young woman stood in the middle of the dome-shaped symbol of Enghelab Square for several minutes, waving her hijab and colorful balloons. Moments later, a law enforcement officer asked her to come down and accompany him to the police station. In the released videos, some bystanders cheer for this woman. No report has been published regarding the identity of this woman or her condition after the arrest. Radio Farda cannot independently confirm the timing of this incident. Public protests against the mandatory hijab began in Iran in December of last year, and reports indicate that 40 women have been arrested in this context so far. Vida Mohavedi, Narges Hosseini, Azam Jangrooi, Shaparak Shajari Zadeh, and Maryam Shariati are among the women who were arrested and later released. Some of these women have been sentenced to prison. The leader of the Islamic Republic has referred to these protesters against the mandatory hijab as 'deceived' and described their movement as 'insignificant' and a result of 'the extensive propaganda of enemies and their exorbitant costs.' Following the victory of the 1979 revolution, hijab became mandatory in Iran. However, some Shia clerics oppose the mandatory hijab, while others believe that hijab is a changeable ruling. For instance, Ayatollah Mohammad Ishaq Fayyaz, one of the four famous clerics in Najaf, stated in a meeting with the head of Iran's judiciary in 2016 that 'the use of force and coercion in promoting hijab is ineffective.' Hassan Yousofi Ashkouri, a Shia cleric, stated in 2000 at the Berlin conference that the social rulings of Islam, including hijab, are changeable. He was accused of apostasy in the initial court and subsequently sentenced to death. This sentence was eventually revoked, and Mr. Ashkouri was stripped of his clerical robe and imprisoned for five years. In this regard, 12 religious reformists issued a statement on February 6, 2018, denying the mandatory hijab, emphasizing that the policies of the Islamic Republic in this area have resulted in nothing but 'exorbitant financial costs, religious and spiritual discredit, political inefficiency, and social waste.'