Closure of Hall Hosting Ceremony to Honor Doctors Due to Attendance of a Doctor Without Mandatory Hijab

After Dr. Fatemeh Rajai Rad, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, attended a ceremony honoring exemplary doctors in Amol without wearing the mandatory hijab, her medical license was revoked, and now the hall that hosted the ceremony has also been sealed. Iranian media reports that the hall was closed by order of the prosecutor's office in Mahmoudabad. Following the ceremony and Dr. Rajai Rad's appearance without a hijab, several health and medical officials in Amol, including the head of the health network, the head of the nursing, midwifery, and paramedical faculty, and the head of Khomeini Hospital in the city, were dismissed. Some executives who attended the ceremony were also referred to the administrative violations committee for not reacting to Dr. Rajai Rad's optional dress. Additionally, actions have been taken to revoke Dr. Fatemeh Rajai Rad's membership in the faculty, and her presence at the university and in classes has been banned until a final verdict is issued. Her appearance with optional attire was referred to in government-affiliated media as 'inappropriate behavior' and 'norm-breaking action.' Shortly after, a video message from Dr. Rajai Rad, wearing Islamic hijab, was released by media outlets including Fars, in which she apologized to 'all those who were offended by my non-compliance with the hijab' and to the medical system of Amol 'who worked hard for this program and despite their warnings to me about hijab, I ignored it and wasted their efforts.' It is unclear whether Dr. Rajai Rad was pressured to release this video. However, the Islamic Republic's state media has broadcast forced confessions from various individuals over the past four decades. Meanwhile, Dr. Haleh Hamidifar, CEO of Sinagen Pharmaceutical Company, posted a photo of herself on Instagram stating that she was barred from entering the Ministry of Health for a meeting due to her 'short coat.' Dr. Hamidifar wrote: 'I am nobody. But the treatment of the representative of the main producer of drugs for special and difficult-to-treat patients, while patients and their families are protesting at the same ministry's door for a shortage of imported drugs, is unacceptable.' Sinagen is one of the most well-known pharmaceutical companies in Iran, focusing on producing drugs for immunological diseases, MS, infertility, diabetes, kidney diseases, osteoporosis, hormonal disorders, and cancer. The company's website states that in 1397 (2018), it prevented the outflow of one billion dollars from the country for the purchase of foreign samples of these drugs. Following widespread anti-government protests last year after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, opposition to the mandatory hijab has become more pronounced. During these protests, many women artists, civil activists, and athletes expressed their opposition to the mandatory hijab by sharing images of themselves without headscarves. Javaid Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, also stated in his latest report to the UN General Assembly that one of the clearest examples of organized and targeted harassment and discrimination against women in Iran is the government's pressure to enforce the mandatory hijab. Hengameh Ghaziani was summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office. Amnesty International: Mandatory hijab is a tool for 'widespread and systematic' violation of the rights of women and girls in Iran. Two professional cinema organizations described the prohibition of female actors as a 'clear example of crisis creation.' Emphasis on dealing with opponents of the mandatory hijab came just one day after the burial of Armita Garavand. The Tehran prosecutor filed a complaint against seven filmmakers after they supported the banned actors.