Iran: Hijab law under review says attorney general; state body reports 200 deaths amid protests

Iran’s parliament and the judiciary are in the midst of reviewing the law which mandates women to cover their heads and if it requires any changes, said the attorney general, on Friday. This comes amid months of deadly protests in the country which began back in September.

Meanwhile, the judiciary's Mizan news agency quoted the interior ministry's state security council as saying taht at least 200 people lost their lives inthe “riots” which is significantly lower than figures presented by the United Nations and rights groups. This also contradicts a senior Revolutionary Guards commander, Amirali Hajizadeh, who had earlier said that more than 300 people, including security forces, have been killed.

Similarly, anUN-appointed expert on Iran, had said on Tuesdaythat more than 300 people were killed during the protests, including 40 children. Furthermore, rights group HRANA said that as of Friday, at least 470 protesters have been killed including over 60 minors, while over 18,000 people are believed to be detained by the police.

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Meanwhile, attorney general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, said, “Both the parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue),”referring to the law which requires women to cover their heads, reported the ISNA news agency.

He added that on Wednesday, the review team met with the parliament’s cultural commission, which will show some results “in a week or two”. However, he did not say what, if any changes will be made to the law.

Hijab was made obligatory for all women in Iran four years after the 1979 revolution which overthrew the United States-backed monarchy in the country. The protests sparked following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman after her arrest by the country’s morality police for her alleged breach of the dress code.

However, the authorities in Iran have blamed the US, Israel, Britain, and Saudi Arabia for the recent demonstrations in the country which the government has labelled as “riots”.

President Ebrahim Raisi, on Saturday, hailed Tehran for having “the most progressive constitution in the world”, quoting an unidentified African lawyer whom he had met some years ago, reported Reuters.

In his speech to the members of the parliament, Raisi said that Iran's constitution guarantees the existence of the Islamic system as well as “fundamental rights and legitimate freedoms.” Notably, Raisi earlier this year had asked, “all state institutions to enforce the headscarf law”.

(With inputs from agencies)

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