Iran: New Compulsory Veiling Law Intensifies Oppression of Women and Girls

Iranian authorities have adopted a new draconian law that further erases the human rights of women and girls. Amnesty International reports that the authorities are imposing the death penalty, flogging, prison terms and other severe penalties to crush ongoing resistance to compulsory veiling. The “Law on Protecting the Family through the Promotion of the Culture of Chastity and Hijab” will come into force on 13 December 2024, according to Iran’s Speaker of Parliament.

In a dangerous escalation, the law permits the imposition of the death penalty for peaceful activism against Iran’s discriminatory compulsory veiling laws. As Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, stated: “This shameful law intensifies the persecution of women and girls for daring to stand up for their rights following the ‘Woman Life Freedom’ uprising.” The authorities are seeking to entrench the already suffocating system of repression against women and girls while making their daily lives even more intolerable.

Legislative Context and Enforcement

The new law was drafted by the judiciary in May 2023 in response to widespread defiance of compulsory veiling by women and girls in protest at the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini, which sparked the “Woman Life Freedom” uprising in September 2022. The law, containing 74 articles, also penalizes private entities that fail to enforce compulsory veiling, while providing impunity to officials and vigilantes who violently attack women and girls for defying it.

Definitions of Criminalized Acts

The law criminalizes and introduces severe penalties for “nudity, indecency, unveiling and bad dressing (bad poosheshi)”. According to the text of the legislation:

• Unveiling (Article 50): Defined as the act of women and girls not covering their heads with a hijab, chador, or headscarf.
• Bad dressing (Article 48): Defined as exposing any body parts below the neck, other than the hands and feet, or wearing clothing that “contributes to or incites the commission of sin by others”.

While “nudity” and “indecency” are not defined, Article 49 states that “nudity” by women and girls in public or online leads to immediate detention, prosecution, and up to 10 years in prison.

Summary of Penalties by Article

The following data outlines the severe penalties established under the new legal framework:

• Article 37: Promoting or propagating unveiling in collaboration with foreign entities, including media and civil society organizations, may be punished by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to US$12,000. If the conduct amounts to “corruption on earth”, it can be punishable by death under Article 286 of the Islamic Penal Code.
• Article 48: Women and girls caught “bad dressing” face fines starting at around US$160 for the first infraction and escalating to US$4,000 for the fourth infraction. Subsequent “offences” risk a fine of around US$8,000 and up to five years’ imprisonment.
• Article 38: Provides for a two-year travel ban and a two-year ban on using social media platforms for those engaging in subsequent offences.
• Article 49: Repeat “offenders” regarding “nudity” can be imprisoned for up to 15 years or fined around US$22,000.

The law also imposes restrictions on education and employment for women and girls who defy compulsory veiling laws. The international community must not stand idly by as Iranian authorities further codify repression and even resort to the death penalty to suppress dissent. They must use their leverage to press the Iranian authorities to withdraw this law and abolish compulsory veiling in law and practice.