Protester Against Mandatory Hijab Released After 'Being Whipped'

The Iranian Women's Association announced that Roshanak Molaei, a woman protesting against sexual harassment by a government force, was released from Qarchak prison in Varamin after being 'whipped' by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic. According to a report from the Iranian Women's Association's account on the social media platform 'X', an online court session was held for Roshanak Molaei Alishah, where the judge issued a 'whipping punishment' for her. On December 7, after the execution of the sentence, she reportedly told her fellow inmates, 'I have been whipped and I am going.' No further details regarding the extent and manner of the execution of this punishment for the anti-mandatory hijab activist were provided in the report. Roshanak Molaei Alishah, 25 years old from Tabriz and residing in Tehran, was arrested after a confrontation with a government motorcycle rider on November 1, who had harassed her in Africa Street in Tehran. The Tehran Police Command had announced that a case had been opened regarding 'harassment of women.' According to the announcement from the Islamic Republic's police command, the motorcycle rider was only accused of 'traffic violations.' Roshanak Molaei, who has a history of arrest during nationwide protests, had shared her confrontation with the government motorcycle rider on social media under the title 'Being a Woman in Iran.' This sparked many reactions, and her account was immediately made inaccessible. This civil activist was summoned and interrogated by the Cyber Police on November 12 after a threatening phone call due to her posts in cyberspace. The Islamic Republic has increased restrictions on individual and social freedoms for women by criminalizing non-compliance with the mandatory hijab. Official and unofficial forces have been deployed to confront women who engage in civil disobedience against this obligation under the 'Chastity and Hijab' law. Civil disobedience against the mandatory hijab and violations of women's rights continue, and reports indicate an increase in the number of women who go without hijab in public places. The Islamic Republic's policy of enforcing the mandatory hijab in Iran has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organizations, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has previously stated that the mandatory hijab in Iran is a violation of human rights. Some observers have recently told Voice of America that the legalization of imposing the mandatory hijab on women increases social tensions in Iran. Opponents of the mandatory hijab face fines of at least 330 million tomans. An official from Tehran University stated that the hijab has been 'abandoned.' The U.S. has stated that defenders of women's human rights should operate without fear. The European Parliament has called for the repeal of discriminatory laws against women and girls in Iran and proposed a resolution against the increasing repression of women in Iran. The police claim that 'only 30 percent' of Tehran's smart cameras are 'active.'