"The Nineties" took to the streets in Shiraz without the mandatory hijab; "five people" arrested
Hours after a video was released showing a recreational gathering of teenage girls and boys on one of the main streets of Shiraz, the city's governor announced that police officers had arrested ten people in this connection.
The video in question, which was posted on social media on Thursday, July 2nd, shows a number of teenage boys and girls walking on Shahid Chamran Boulevard in Shiraz, and most of the girls in this group have refused to wear the mandatory hijab.
Mehr News Agency reported on Thursday evening, quoting Lotfollah Sheibani, the governor of Shiraz, that "so far, ten people involved in organizing this gathering have been arrested."
Mr. Shibani stated: "As soon as we were informed of this matter, necessary measures were taken in coordination with the judicial system and the police to identify the factors influencing the holding of the ceremony."
However, an hour later, Fars News Agency quoted the Chief Justice of Fars Province as saying that only "five of the main perpetrators, all of whom were involved in the ceremony, were arrested after being identified, and none of the teenagers participating in the ceremony are in custody."
According to the governor of Shiraz, the actions of the teenagers seen in the video were "pre-planned" and they "had other plans for the future."
Referring to the arrest of a number of these teenagers and young people, the governor of Shiraz said: "In addition, [their] leader was also identified at the same ceremony and steps have been taken to arrest him based on judicial authorities."
Mandatory hijab has become one of Iran's social and political challenges, pitting many women, girls, and families who do not believe in it against the Islamic Republic's government.
The Iranian government has been deploying guidance patrols on city streets and squares for years to combat what it calls "improper hijab." From time to time, these patrols' violent treatment of women and girls makes headlines.
However, after years, the conservative and extremist newspaper Resalat acknowledged the failure of the Guidance Patrol project and wrote that "the Guidance Patrol not only failed to protect the hijab, but also sowed hatred and resentment among a segment of society."
The participants in the 1990s gathering in Shiraz, all of whom were born years after the 1979 revolution and, according to Fars News Agency, "their average age is no more than 15 or 16 years old," attended schools run under the supervision of the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Education.
Source: Radio Farda
