While the discourse carries on penetrating into legal establishments, the Mahsa Amini incident in Iran sparked outrage everywhere and further highlighted the issue of a moral trial.
Restrictions upon women, be it socially or judicially, have been ongoing and fought against for centuries. In recent times, countries like Bangladesh have also seen social unrest, and both conservative and liberal perspectives on how women dress, how they should be dressing and the way others (particularly, men) react to it or are affected by it. By many conservatives, it has been labeled as cultural humiliation. Iran is known as a unitary Islamic republic with one legislative house. Their supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has been in power for nearly four decades. Over time, morality and religious practices have become the center of the region with many, particularly women, trying to break out of repressive conditions. The death of Mahsa Amini has brought to question the morality police, the extreme conditions of religious subjugation and how far the government will go to implement repressive laws.
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died on September 16th, after supposedly being assaulted by the nation’s morality police. Protests raged the streets of Iran in the days following her passing where at least 41 people had passed away by the following Sunday. In public, interactions between opposite sexes and dressing inappropriately are prohibited in the Islamic Republic. As Amini’s case demonstrates, women’s freedom is severely restricted from exercising their rights, personal liberty over their dress and even their attire. Amini’s offense was reportedly wearing a loose (?) hijab.
With the morality police being government enforcers, the question now rises: Do they represent Islamic teachings or an authoritative dictatorship?
A division of Iran’s police forces known as ‘Gasht-e-Ershad’ translates to ‘guidance patrol’. This force is popularly known as the ‘morality police’ and is responsible for enforcing the rules of Islamic dress code in public which is also enforced by the law and legally punishable if violated. The law states that all women must cover their heads and dress in loose garments in public after reaching adolescence, though the specific age is unspecified. Girls are normally required to wear hijab in school from age 7. It is important to note that Iran’s laws are mostly based on the government’s interpretation of the Islamic Sharia law, which mandates modest clothing for both men and women. But in reality, the dress codes for men are not specified nor is it something the morality police address and mostly, they are seen to go after the women. The definition of unsuitable clothes and what is appropriate is vague, leaving a lot of opportunity for individual interpretation and higher rates of the morality police arbitrarily arresting women. Those who are detained by the morality police are given a notice or warning. In some cases, they are taken to a police station or a supposed advising center where they must attend a required lecture on the hijab, appropriate attire and Islamic principles. Then, in order to be released, they must ask for someone to provide them the suitable clothing to be released.
However, many Iranian women have discovered ways to flout the strict attire regulations. Many have gone above the norm by donning form-fitting clothing and accessorizing with bright headscarves that leave a lot of hair exposed, since there are no strict limitations or specifications on the amount of exposed hair permitted.
Islamic bindings do call for women to cover themselves, however- In recent times, the hijab has been symbolized as an oppressive attire especially when it is dogmatically imposed. However, it goes without saying that every woman must choose to oblige out of free will and wear the headscarf. So despite the religious instructions, whether to wear or not to wear this hijab ought to come down to the woman’s decision alone. Iran’s law of the mandatory headscarf along with its vague dress code guidelines have sparked outrage nationwide and caught the attention of the globe. What makes the situation more convoluted is the suspicion surrounding the case. The officials claim that she had slipped away into a coma while being detained and had passed away naturally, while many argue that she was beaten to death by officials. The dubiousness in the details of the former and official account has not been credible to many, so to say.
Mahsa Amini’s case is not the first to enrage the Iranin women and protest against restrictive laws. This year, women all around Iran removed their headscarves on July 12, which the government had declared the National Day of Hijab and Chastity. The number of individual acts of disobedience against the clothing code has also increased due to a general climate of civil unhappiness about the economy and other issues. The policing authorities’ responded to this protest through warnings to arrests and have also hinted towards stern crackdowns. The government also hinted to utilize face recognition technology to find such dissidents, according to a statement made by the Minister for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice last month. Labeling the hijab burners as participants in a ‘Western conspiracy’ has been simpler than responding to the actual demands of these women- yet another statement demonstrating the tremendous levels of insecurity among those in power in Iran vis-à-vis their own populace.
The Iranian protest has also made it evident that the headscarf has distinct connotations in various Islamic nations and in other nations with sizable Muslim populations. Iranian women have always objected to this garment especially since Ayatollah Khomeini took power in 1979. In many other Islam dominant nations, religious conservatives used the headscarf as a potent political symbol, but liberal activists and civil rights advocates embraced it as the long-overdue return of personal freedom. The bottom conclusion is that people normally respond negatively when a strong state intrudes on their personal space.
Iranian women are certainly not abiding by the restrictive regulations upon their attire anymore as is seen in their protests. They have taken to public and social platforms without their hijabs. While wearing the hijab remains a choice, the mandatory hijab is now a symbol of the state’s repression of women, and has been one of the key pillars of the Islamic republic. Paris-based, Iranian-French sociologist Azadeh Kian told RFE/RL argues that it is likely that more and more women will continue to remove their headscarves resisting the compulsory hijab law. He further states, “Until now, they didn’t dare to walk bareheaded in public. Today, they have found the courage.”
A History in Discourse
In 1981, two years after Iran’s Islamic Revolution, the hijab became mandatory. Protests were sparked by the decision and quickly put down by the new authority. Over the years, numerous women have disregarded the guideline and pushed the limits of what is considered appropriate apparel. While many have been compelled to leave the nation under official pressure, women have also started campaigns against the unjust rule. The Iranian government has mainly targeted reporters and journalists who have covered the Amini case or advocated for Iranina women’s rights. For example, Elahe Mohammadi who wrote on Amini’s funeral was called upon by judicial authorities and imprisoned, Masih Alinejad who has been advocating for women’s rights in Iran for years is residing in a safe house in America.
Additionally, many female athletes over the years have refused to return to Iran when they were forced to issue an apology while Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi recently returned to Iran without a headscarf raising suspicions about her safety and whereabouts. Women who defy the dress code or those to use their platform to advocate for women’s rights putting the government in question, are subjected to lashings, imprisonments and other forms of punishments, unless they are able to leave the country beforehand and seek refuge elsewhere.
Mahsa Amini – A Challenge for Iranian Women in Future?
This situation insinuates that the backlash of the oppression women, particularly Iranian women, have been facing for decades, is a force to be dealt with. The government stands strong in upholding their interpretations of religious scripture to enforce repressive laws, restrict women’s movement and distort the true teachings of Islam. Despite the lack of change over the years, it is crucial to keep the conversation going and create opportunities for Iranian and other Muslim women to express themselves freely without the fear of legal repercussion – or becoming the next Mahsa Amini – as part of the larger feminist movement.