Hijab row: Iran's parliament approves stricter headscarf law, imposes punishments clause

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AP. The following move arrived days after the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the morality police for violating the country's dress code. After her death, months of protests took place in which many called for the overthrow of Iran's theocracy.

As per details, the 70-item bill extends punishments to business owners who serve women not wearing the mandatory headscarf, known as hijab, and activists who organize against it. The bill clearly says violators may face up to 10 years in prison if the offense occurs in an organized way. ALSO READ: ‘Abaya has no place in schools’: France bans ‘new phenomenon’ to ‘protect' secularism It has been approved by 152 lawmakers in Iran's 290-seat parliament and requires ratification by the Guardian Council, a clerical body that serves as a constitutional watchdog.

It would take effect for a preliminary period of three years. Earlier on 16 September 2022, after Amini's death, the demonstration took place following which more than 500 protesters were killed and over 22,000 detained in the crackdown. Though many women continued to flaunt the rules on wearing hijab, prompting a new campaign to enforce them over the summer.

Iran's clerical rulers view the hijab law as a key pillar of the Islamic Republic and blamed the protests on Western nations, without providing evidence. The protesters said they were motivated by anger over the dress code as well as what they see as the corruption and poor governance of the country's ruling clerics. In a separate incident on Wednesday, a gunman shot a cleric to death in the northern Iranian town of Sejas.