US Commission: Mandatory hijab in Iran is a violation of human rights
The US Commission on Religious Freedom stated that compulsory hijab in Iran is a violation of human rights.
The US Commission has published a report on human rights violations in Iran, in which it referred to international religious freedom issues and said: "The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Taliban in Afghanistan, by implementing the compulsory hijab law, violate the freedom of individuals to dress in accordance with their religion or beliefs."
The US Commission, emphasizing the killing of Mahsa Amini by the Ershad patrol officers due to the forced hijab and the widespread protests that began against her killing, added: "Protesters against the severe violations of human rights in the Islamic Republic have faced repression including execution, sexual assault, torture, and mass arrests. The religious dress that the Islamic Republic and the Taliban impose on the people stems from the interpretations of Islam by the Taliban and the Islamic Republic."
"Thus, the application of compulsory veil laws is unlawful under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which emphasizes freedom of religion and belief."
The aforementioned commission referred to Article 638 of the Criminal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran and said: "This article considers any violation of religious norms in public a crime, and one of its cases is defined as women who appear in public without a hijab, and the punishment for this is up to two months in prison or a fine."
The Commission also referred this month (November) to article 18, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which allows for limitations on freedom of religion or belief, but emphasizes that such limitations must be based on principles not derived exclusively from a single tradition in order to protect public morals.
The US Commission also published a report on the state of religious freedom worldwide in recent months, in which it referred to Kian Pirfalak and Nika Shakermi and wrote: "In addition to suppressing protesters, the authorities of the Islamic Republic have systematically targeted Baha'is, Christians, Gonabadi Dervishes, Zoroastrians, Yarsanis, Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, and non-religious individuals for decades with harassment, arrest, long-term imprisonment, exile, prohibition of participation in political and social activities, execution, sexual assault, and so on."
