UN human rights experts cautioned on Friday, September 1, that a proposed legislation in Iran, which proposes increased penalties for women not wearing a headscarf in public, could be seen as a form of “gender apartheid.”
A draft law in Iran ordering new penalties for women not wearing a headscarf in public could amount to “gender apartheid,” UN rights experts warned Friday.
Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, women in Iran have to cover their hair and neck in public, with offenders facing fines or prison terms of up to two months.
A growing number of women have been defying the law and appearing bareheaded, especially since nationwide protests sparked by the death in custody last year of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, arrested for allegedly violating the law.
Iran’s conservatives, who dominate the country’s parliament and leadership, have passionately defended the dress code.
In May, the judiciary and the government proposed a “Support for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity” bill, urging far stiffer penalties for non-compliance.
It raises fines and includes other penalties such as the temporary confiscation of a woman’s vehicle.
The experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the rights situation in Iran and members of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, said the draft bill and existing de facto restrictions “are inherently discriminatory and may amount to gender persecution”.
The independent experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, warned that the severe punishments called for by the bill “may lead to its violent enforcement.”
The experts slammed the use of terms like “nudity” and “lack of chastity” in the bill, which they said sought to authorize public institutions to deny essential services and opportunities to women and girls without a headscarf.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
