Controversial 'Hijab Bill' in Iran: Shocking Penalties Await Women for Inappropriate Dress - Up to 10 Years in Jail!

On Wednesday, Iran's parliament approved stricter legislation that imposes harsher penalties on women who violate hijab rules. This comes just days after the one-year anniversary of widespread protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in September last year after being detained by the notorious morality police, reportedly for not adhering to the country's conservative dress code.

The "hijab bill," also known as the Decree on Head Coverings, will be implemented as a trial measure for a period of three years. It outlines a range of regulations concerning garment attire, with potential penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment for violations.

The bill specifies that women who fail to adhere to the appropriate hijab attire in public, as well as men who wear clothing revealing body parts below the chest or beyond the ankles, will be subject to fines. These fines will increase progressively for repeated offenses.

Penalties for non-compliance are also included in the bill, applicable to both celebrities and businesses.

The bill's implementation is pending approval from the Guardian Council, the governing body responsible for legislative matters in the Islamic Republic. Prior to becoming law, all bills passed by the parliament must undergo scrutiny and approval by the council.

On April 15, 2023, a group of women in Tehran were spotted walking on the street. However, a controversial bill was recently passed by the Iranian parliament which results in intensified penalties for women who do not adhere to the proper hijab attire.

The bill contains unclear sections, such as the absence of a clear definition for "semi-naked" in public. Offenders can face imprisonment for a duration of five to 10 years, along with a fine ranging between 180 million rials ($4,260) to 360 million rials ($8,520) under the Iranian penal code.

Article 50 of the new law mandates the immediate arrest of individuals who publicly appear nude or semi-nude, or in a manner traditionally deemed indecent.

According to the new bill, individuals who conspire with foreign media and government entities to promote nudity, improper hijab, or improper attire may face a maximum of 10 years in prison. Additionally, those found guilty of mocking or disrespecting the hijab may be subjected to a fine as well as a potential travel ban lasting up to two years.

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Socially influential individuals found guilty of violating the bill may be subjected to a fourth-degree jail sentence and required to pay a fine comprising 1% to 5% of their overall assets. Additionally, the bill's restrictions encompass mannequins and toys, prohibiting their representation in an indecent manner.

Multiple human rights advocates have condemned the contentious bill, which UN experts warn could lead to "gender apartheid." The draft law, consisting of 70 articles, encompasses various proposals, such as employing artificial intelligence to detect women who violate the prescribed dress code.

A response to protests

Experts said the bill was a warning to Iranians that the regime would not back down from its stance on the hijab despite the mass demonstrations last year.

Aminis death ignited countrywide demonstrations that shook the nation, presenting a significant internal challenge to Irans ruling clerical regime, surpassing anything seen in the past decade.

In an effort to quell the movement that lasted for months, authorities resorted to brutal tactics, resulting in numerous accounts of fatalities, people going missing, and instances of torture while in detention.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House think-tank in London, said in August before the bill was introduced in parliament that it was a direct response to the protests from September of last fall. Vakil added that the establishment was aiming to regain control over veiling practices and the expectations placed on women. Iranian human rights lawyer and adjunct professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, Hossein Raeesi, stated that some of the measures outlined in the draft law have already been unlawfully employed by Iranian security forces. This includes the recent closure of an insurance company in Tehran after photos of female employees not wearing the hijab were shared on social media.

According to Raeesi, if this bill is passed, the government would effectively sanction the unlawful actions of certain forces.

After the protests last year, there had been a decrease in the activities of Iran's morality police. However, in August, General Saeed Montazerolmahdi, the police spokesman, announced that the morality police would once again begin informing and apprehending women who are found in public without wearing the Islamic headscarf.

Escalating penalties

Wearing a hijab has been mandatory for women in Iran since 1983, after the countrys autocratic monarchy was overthrown in the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The new law increases the penalties outlined in the existing Islamic penal code for violations of the dress code. Currently, offenders can be imprisoned for 10 days to two months or fined between 50,000 to 500,000 Iranian rials, equivalent to $1.18 to $11.82 today.

Under the new law, business owners who fail to enforce the hijab requirement will be subject to higher fines, which could amount to three months of their business profits. Additionally, they may face travel bans, as well as restrictions on participating in public or cyber activities for a period of up to two years.

The proposed legislation would also require increased gender segregation in universities, which are often focal points for civil protests, as well as in other public areas.

Reported by CNN's Celine Alkhaldi and Nadeen Ebrahim.