Outrage after female tourist’s death in Kerman highlights Iran’s oppressive laws

Shazdeh Mahan garden in Kerman, Iran witnessed a brutal and senseless act on April 23, 2023, when a female tourist was killed by Basij agents.
Shazdeh Mahan garden in Kerman, Iran witnessed a brutal and senseless act on April 23, 2023, when a female tourist was killed by Basij agents.

 

The reason behind this horrific act was the female tourist’s decision not to wear a hijab in public. The situation escalated quickly as people got angry and started throwing stones at the bus carrying the Basij agents.

According to state-run media reports, the Basij agents had warned some visitors about the mandatory hijab rule before the altercation occurred. However, eyewitnesses claim that the group of Basij agents who had visited the grave of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the terrorist Quds Force who was killed in 2020, were involved in a violent altercation

The governor of Kerman, Ali Babaei, attributed the cause of the conflict to “personal issues,” contradicting Mohammad Saberi, the head of the Kerman Emergency Medical Center, who revealed that the woman was actually 72 years old and had undergone open heart surgery, as evidenced by the marks on her chest.

 

Women who do not comply with the compulsory veiling dress code and the new Hijab Plan face restrictions on their access to business complexes, subways, banks, and airports.
Women who do not comply with the compulsory veiling dress code and the new Hijab Plan face restrictions on their access to business complexes, subways, banks, and airports.

 

This incident is one of several that have occurred as the clerical regime has implemented several measures to increase pressure on women to wear the mandatory hijab.

Despite previous announcements that the State Security Force (SSF) would refrain from physically confronting women on the streets and enforce the Hijab Law through digital systems, Mohammad Moussavian, Isfahan’s prosecutor, has announced that teams would be created to deal with women who remove their hijabs in public places.

The clerical regime officially began dealing with Iranian women and girls who do not comply with the compulsory veiling dress code and the new Hijab Plan on April 15, 2023. The SSF public relations announced that they would deploy CCTV cameras to identify the women who breach the Hijab law and avoid physical tension with them. Violators will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences.”

 

The recent measures to impose the mandatory hijab have been met with protests by citizens and students.
The recent measures to impose the mandatory hijab have been met with protests by citizens and students.

 

Following the death of the female tourist in Kerman, the General Directorate of Museums issued a circular banning the presence of women without observing the Islamic hijab in museums and collections governed by the Ministry of Culture.

The incident has caused outrage both within Iran and around the world, with many condemning the violence and oppression towards women. It remains to be seen what action, if any, will be taken to prevent such horrific incidents from occurring again.

 

 


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