Iran plans to open treatment clinic for women who defy hijab laws: Reports

If reports are to be believed, the Iranian government said that it has plans to open a treatment clinic for women who defied the country's mandatory hijab laws. Such a type of centre has been named a "hijab removal treatment clinic."

According to a report by The Guardian on Thursday (Nov 14), the opening of this clinic was announced byMehri Talebi Darestani, the head of the Women and Family Department of the Tehran Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Darestani said that the clinic would offer scientific and psychological treatment for hijab removal. She said that the clinic would be focused on promoting "dignity, modesty, chastity, and hijab," and pointed out that attendance would be optional.

'It's shameful': Announcement causes outrage

The Guardian report said that the announcement (to open a hijab removal treatment clinic) has led to outrage among Iranian women and human rights groups.

United Kingdom (UK)- based Iranian journalist Sima Sabet said that Tehran's decision was shameful. "The idea of establishing clinics to ‘cure’ unveiled women is chilling, where people are separated from society simply for not conforming to the ruling ideology.”

Iranian human rights lawyer Hossein Raeesi said that the idea of a clinic to treat women who did not comply with hijab laws is “neither Islamic and nor is it aligned with Iranian law.”

The report further said that an Iranian woman who chose to remain anonymous said that this would not be a clinic but a prison.

"We are struggling to make ends meet and have power outages, but a piece of cloth is what this state is worried about," the woman said.

Student, arrested for protesting harassment, sent topsychiatric hospital

The above developments came days after Iranian authorities arrested a female studentafter she staged a solo protest against harassment by stripping to her underwear outside her university.

The student, whose identity has not been revealed, was harassed inside theIslamic Azad University in Tehran by members of the Basij paramilitary force who ripped her headscarf and clothes, reports said.

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Following the reported harassment, the student took off her clothes in protestand sat outside the university dressed in just her underwearbefore she was detained.

The Guardian reported on Thursday that the student had been transferred to a psychiatric hospital.

(With inputs from agencies)