Raisi says hijab is the law as women face ‘yogurt attack’ | News

Iran’s president said the veil is the law after a video went viral showing a man throwing yoghurt on undressed women in Mashhad.

President Ebrahim Raisi said hijab is a “legal issue” in Iran after a video went viral showing a man throwing yogurt at two undressed women in a shop near a Shiite holy city.

Growing numbers of women have defied the authorities by removing their veils after nationwide protests followed the death in September of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating veiling rules. Security forces violently suppressed the protests.

The video appears to show two female customers entering a store. A little later, a man approached the women and spoke to them. He then picks up what appears to be a large pot of yogurt and throws its contents over the heads of the two women.

Judicial authorities in a town near the northeastern city of Mashhad ordered the arrest of two women, a mother and daughter, for violating Iran’s strict female dress code and “committing a prohibited act,” state media reported on Saturday.

The authorities issued an arrest warrant for the man “on charges of committing an insulting act and disturbing order,” according to the judicial website Mizan Online.

With the risk of arrest for violating the mandatory dress code, women are still widely seen in malls, restaurants, stores, and streets across the country.
Videos of uncovered women resisting the morality police went viral on social media.

In remarks made live on state television, Chief Sai said, “If some people say they don’t believe [in the hijab] … It is fine to use persuasion … But the point is that there is a legal requirement … Today, veiling is a matter of law.”

Authorities said the owner of the dairy store, who confronted the attacker, had been warned.

Reports on social media showed his store had closed, although a local news agency quoted him as saying he had been allowed to reopen and was due to “give explanations” to the court.

Iranian media reported that the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, had earlier threatened to pursue “mercilessly” women who appear in public without veils.

Unveiling is tantamount to enmity [our] Several news websites quoted Ege as saying.

He added that Iran’s enemies abroad encourage the abuses.

Under Iranian law imposed after the 1979 revolution, women are required to cover their hair and wear long, loose clothing to hide their figures. Violators faced a public reprimand, fines, or arrest.

Calling the veil “one of the civilized foundations of the Iranian nation” and “one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic,” the Interior Ministry said there would be “no backsliding or tolerance” on the issue.

He urged citizens to confront non-veiled women. In past decades, these directives have encouraged some people to attack women with impunity.

The government has often turned a blind eye to violations of the veil rule, but this has sparked outrage among religious leaders and pro-government politicians.

According to media reports, a religious leader and an MP on Saturday threatened to take action themselves if the government did not step forward to enforce rules requiring individuals to wear headscarves.