The Case of One of the Protesters Against Mandatory Hijab Has Been Sent to Court

The Chief Justice of Tehran Province announced that the case of one of the protesters against mandatory hijab, known as the "Girls of Revolution Street," has been sent to court without naming or providing details. Gholamhossein Esmaeili stated in an interview with Tasnim News Agency on Friday, February 9, that the case of one of the "recent hijab violators" has been forwarded to court for consideration. He noted that he does not have "exact statistics" on the number of cases in this regard at the prosecutor's office. In the judicial system of the Islamic Republic, if the prosecutor does not issue a decision to dismiss the case and considers the individual guilty, the case is sent to court along with an indictment for a ruling. The Tehran police also reported on February 1 that 29 people were arrested for removing their headscarves in protest against the mandatory hijab. Meanwhile, Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer, had previously reported that a case had been opened at the prosecutor's office for Narges Hosseini and a woman whose name has been mentioned on social media as Vida Mohammadi. On Saturday, February 3, she wrote on her Facebook page that the charges announced against Narges Hosseini by the prosecutor's office surprised her and Arash Keykhosravi, another lawyer for Ms. Hosseini. According to Ms. Sotoudeh, three charges of "encouraging corruption," "failure to observe Sharia hijab," and "pretending to commit a forbidden act" have been brought against her client. The imposition of these heavy charges against Ms. Hosseini comes at a time when, according to Note 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, the punishment for women who appear in public without Sharia hijab is imprisonment from 10 days to two months or a fine ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 rials, meaning the court can sentence the accused to either of the two punishments or imprisonment for up to two months or a fine of up to 50,000 tomans. Public protests against mandatory hijab began in December with the release of a video showing a young woman publicly protesting the mandatory hijab on Revolution Street. This woman, known as the "Girl of Revolution Street," had attached her headscarf to a stick and was waving it like a flag while standing on an electrical pole. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer who had been following the situation of this woman, announced on February 1 that she had been released. Ms. Sotoudeh had 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 Mohammadi," but no other reports have confirmed this. Following that, on February 2, other images were shared on social media showing at least six people in Tehran and one person in Isfahan repeating this act by climbing electrical poles. These protest actions received widespread attention, and officials from the judiciary strongly condemned them. However, some members of parliament, including Soheila Jelodarzadeh, a member of parliament, have described the protest actions of these women as a result of "unnecessary constraints," "pressures," and "wrong behavior" by the government. At the same time, the Strategic Studies Center of the Presidency published the results of two studies indicating an increase in the number of people who consider hijab to be optional. The methodology of this survey and the percentage reported regarding this increase, however, cannot be independently verified. Additionally, Mohammad Maljou, a researcher and economist, has 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 and concluded that this data "loudly indicates that a large majority of Iranians living inside the country agree with the demands of the Girls of Revolution Street." According to the website "Critique of Political Economy" in Iran, based on this research, which resulted from analyzing survey data from September and October 2016, more than 78% agree with optional hijab, while nearly 22% support mandatory hijab. The statistics reported in Iran cannot be independently verified or refuted. In this context, a group of religious reformists has called for a reconsideration of the policy of "mandatory hijab." A report published by a state institution states that "49%" of the Iranian people do not want mandatory hijab. Narges Mohammadi supported the right of women to choose their attire.