Khamenei's harsh reaction to protests against compulsory hijab on International Women's Day: They have been deceived
On International Women's Day, which is celebrated in most countries, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, in his first reaction to the symbolic protests of some women against the mandatory hijab, called the protesting women "deceived" and considered the results of their work "despicable."
The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran said on Thursday in a gathering of mourners that they spent so much money, thought, and advertising that a few girls were deceived and removed their headscarves in the streets, and all their efforts were summed up in this small and insignificant result: "This is not an issue, but what makes me sensitive is the raising of the issue of compulsory hijab from the mouths of some elites."
He implicitly called for dealing with symbolic protesters, saying: "The work that is done on the streets and in public is actually public work and education, and it creates a task for the system that emerged from Islam."
Mr. Khamenei’s remarks coincided with the sentencing of a woman protesting against mandatory hijab. On Thursday, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi announced a two-year prison sentence for a woman who removed her headscarf on Enqelab Street in Tehran to protest against mandatory hijab. He did not name the woman, but it is the first sentence for a symbolic protest against mandatory hijab.
In January of this year, a young woman named Vida Movahed held her headscarf on a stick on a platform at the intersection of Enghelab and Vesal streets. Although she was arrested, dozens of young girls in Tehran and other cities imitated her.
Most of these women were arrested and then released on bail.
The United States has criticized Iran's treatment of women protesting against the mandatory hijab in several consecutive positions.
In recent weeks, dozens of newspapers in the United States, written by analysts and political and human rights activists, have supported the actions of these Iranian women.
One of the protesting women has 21 months of her two-year prison sentence suspended, and she must serve five months in prison, but the Tehran prosecutor says she is appealing the sentence.
Some jurisprudential sources and political figures have sided with the protesting women in recent weeks, saying that according to Islam, hijab is not mandatory.
Source: Voice of America
