Iranian authorities are subjecting women to widespread surveillance to enforce the obligatory headscarf, even inside cars, and then imposing punishments including the confiscation of vehicles, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
The Islamic republic’s leadership was shaken in 2022 by mass protests that saw women denounce the dress code but has made clear it has no plan to abandon the obligatory hijab imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Amnesty said in a report, based on testimony from over 40 women inside Iran published ahead of the March 8 International Women’s Day, that women were being targeted with “widespread surveillance” in public spaces and “mass police checks” targeting women drivers.
“In a sinister attempt to wear down resistance to compulsory veiling... Iran’s authorities are terrorising women and girls by subjecting them to constant surveillance and policing,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s deputy director for the West Asia and North Africa, denouncing “draconian tactics”. Access to transport, airports and banking services is regularly denied and made conditional upon women wearing a headscarf, Amnesty said.
Those defying the rule face prosecution and in January 2024 a flogging sentence of 74 lashes was implemented against a young woman, Roya Heshmati, for appearing unveiled in public.
