Analysis | Protests Against Hijab Reveal Internal Divisions in Iran
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer in Tehran, speaks about women’s protests against mandatory hijab, saying: “The message is very clear and specific; that women want to choose for themselves whether to wear a hijab or not. This is a civil disobedience movement. Women know what the country’s law is regarding hijab and have decided to protest on that basis.”
Since the protests began, twenty-nine women, including Vida Mohaved and Narges Mohammadi, have been arrested for removing their headscarves. The charges against Narges Mohammadi could result in up to ten years of imprisonment.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, the lawyer of Narges Mohammadi, who is imprisoned in Qarchak prison in Varamin, said: “She is opposed to mandatory hijab and considers protesting against it to be her right.” A very high bail has been set for Narges Mohammadi, but she refuses to show remorse.
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Iran’s Chief Prosecutor, initially described the protests as “childish” and “very minor and insignificant,” saying they stem “from suggestions coming from outside the country.”
The Chief Prosecutor of Iran emphasized that the majority of our women “either wear the chador or wear the hijab correctly according to Islamic standards.”
Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, this week released a government report that was prepared three years ago by the “Center for Strategic Studies” in Tehran, showing that almost half of Iranian respondents surveyed support optional hijab.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced to six years in prison for defending human rights activists, says that in her opinion the president “wants to stand alongside supporters of optional hijab.”
Men have also joined this campaign of women’s civil disobedience. Hossein Vahidani, an Iranian writer, tweeted: “How magnificent and meaningful it is that the key to liberating this land from tyranny is in the hands of these young women.”
Source: Voice of America
