Reform or rebellion? Iran arrests marathon organisers over women not wearing hijab
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Reform or rebellion? Iran arrests marathon organisers over women not wearing hijab")
Representational Image. Photograph: (Unsplash)
The event was held on Kish Island off the southern coast of Iran, with about 2,000 women and 3,000 men competing in separate categories. During the marathon, women were wearing red T-shirts, but some of them were not wearing a hijab or any other head covering.
The Iranian judiciary on Saturday ordered to arrest of the organisers of a marathon for allowing women to run without wearing the mandatory hijab. The move followed after the photos of women circulated online showing women not wearing hijab as they competed in the race on Friday.
According to a report by the BBC, the event was held on Kish Island off the southern coast of Iran, with about 2,000 women and 3,000 men competing in separate categories. During the marathon, women were wearing red T-shirts, but some of them not wearing a hijab or any other head covering.
“Two of the main organisers of the competition were arrested on warrants. One of those arrested is an official in the Kish free zone, and the other works for the private company that organised the race,” Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online website confirmed on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the incident sparked mixed reactions inside the country, where supporters celebrated the reform as a sign that Iranian women are pushing back against state-imposed dress codes, while officials condemned the scenes as an unacceptable defiance of current rules.
'Violation of public decency': Authorities argue
The prosecutor in Kish argued over the event and women that the way in which the marathon was being conducted was in itself a “violation of public decency”. “Despite previous warnings regarding the need to comply with the country’s current laws and regulations, as well as religious, customary, and professional principles … the event was held in a way that violated public decency,” France24 quoted the local prosecutor as saying.
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In a separate incident over the same issue, a mass protest surfaced three years ago in Iran, where a Kurdish Iranian woman identified as Mahsa Amini died in custody after being detained for alleged violation of the dress code.
A mass protest erupted in Iran three years ago when a Kurdish Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, died in custody after being detained for alleged breach of dress code. Earlier, the Islamic Republic suppressed the wave of unrest with force, yet many women continue to resist the mandatory dress code.
The judiciary chief has now warned that officials will launch a fresh crackdown on women appearing in public without the hijab. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said intelligence agencies have been instructed to track and report what he described as “organised efforts encouraging immorality and non-veiling.”
