Iran treats hijab opponents as "patients", opens clinic for them

An Iranian government agency announced plans to open a new clinic in Tehran to treat women who defy the mandatory hijab law. This move is seen as the latest in a series of efforts by authorities to depict opponents of this law as having psychological disorders, according to Iran International.

This clinic will be dedicated to providing "scientific and psychological treatment for adherence to hijab," according to statements from the project’s supervising official.

The clinic's official statement mirrors language used in addiction treatment clinics, drawing criticism from human rights activists who see this as an attempt to tarnish the image of mandatory hijab opponents.

Earlier this month, Iranian authorities dealt harshly with a young Iranian woman who protested against Iran's strict dress code, detaining her and labeling her as a "disturbed person in need of treatment" and transferring her to a mental health facility. This is part of a series of incidents indicating authorities’ tendency to portray hijab opponents as "mentally ill," particularly since the outbreak of the Jin Jiyan Azadî (Women, Life, Freedom) uprising in 2022.

Iranian authorities' use of mental health institutions as a tool to punish dissenters has raised concern and condemnation from human rights advocates, who regard this as an abusive and coercive use of mental health services.

The Iranian government has faced severe criticism from the country's psychiatric institutions, with four Iranian psychiatric associations issuing a joint statement in 2023 condemning the use of unscientific diagnoses, such as "anti-family personality disorder," as a pretext for punishing mandatory hijab opponents.

The statement emphasized that such practices violate professional ethics, referencing principles in the Iranian psychology ethics charter, which prohibits discrimination based on religious, racial, or gender identity.

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