According to reports from local media on Wednesday July 19, a well-known actress in Iran has been handed a two-year suspended prison sentence by a court for her non-compliance with the compulsory hijab headscarf rule in public.
A court in Iran has given prominent actress Afsaneh Bayegan, a suspended two-year prison sentence for failing to wear the compulsory hijab headscarf in public, local media reported on Wednesday.
The law requires women to cover their head and neck in public.
The court also ordered the actress to make weekly visits to a psychological center “to treat the mental disorder of having an anti-family personality” and to submit a health certificate after her treatment, it said.
The verdict also bans her from using social media and leaving the Islamic republic for two years, Fars added.
The ruling came after the 61-year-old actress appeared at a movie ceremony without wearing a headscarf and then shared photos on social media.
Wearing a hijab has been compulsory for all Iranian women since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Bayegan had also expressed support for last year’s protests triggered by the death in police custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested in September for allegedly violating the strict dress code.
Women in Iran have increasingly flouted the dress code since the protests, and on Sunday state media reported increased police patrols aimed at catching those ignoring the law.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
