Zahra Rahnavard Describes Mandatory Hijab in Iran as a 'Dictatorial Order' and 'Fabricated'

In a statement ahead of the finalization of the 'Law of Chastity and Hijab' and in response to the ongoing violence and abuse of women by agents of the 'Noor Plan', Zahra Rahnavard stated that 'the regime continues its innovative enforcement of the morality police and commits femicide' while simultaneously shedding 'crocodile tears' for Palestinians. She, along with her husband, Mir Hossein Mousavi, a leader of the protests against the 2009 election results, has been under house arrest since February 2011. In a piece published by the Telegram channel 'Kalemeh' on May 15, she added: 'The regime shamelessly beats women in public, in front of the eyes of the people and the media of Iran and the world.' Rahnavard described the hijab mandated by the Islamic Republic as 'fabricated' and stated that the oppression of women and the killing of their children 'for a few meters of headscarf is a dictatorial and fabricated order, neither religious nor sectarian nor ideological.' Criticizing the Islamic Republic's policies for imposing mandatory hijab and suppressing women, she added: 'They even seize women's vehicles and do not release them until they collect fines of several million, and this highway robbery is completed with the fabrication of cases against women.' In March of last year, Zahra Rahnavard also criticized 'the indifferent rulers to the demands of the nation, especially women, who have deprived women and girls of their human rights for years,' stating: 'The answer to the quest for freedom and the desire for a lifestyle based on individual and public tastes and the elimination of gender discrimination is not bullets; rather, it is the unconditional submission to the rulers.' Zahra Rahnavard was a serious supporter of Islamic hijab in Iran in the early years following the 1979 revolution.