Iranian parliamentarians reintroduce “Modesty and Hijab” law in new bill

The Iranian newspaper “Etemad” stated that some MPs are aiming to include parts of the “Modesty and Hijab” law in a bill called Prevention of Violence Against Women, a move observers view as an attempt to reactivate previously frozen restrictive provisions by a decision of the Supreme National Security Council.

The newspaper noted in its Monday issue that “some hardline MPs, after losing hope in enforcing the previous hijab and modesty law, resorted to reintroducing their ideas in a new bill related to women’s protection,” adding that they included phrases such as “the priority of noble living for men” and certain rules concerning women’s clothing in the amended text.

Previously, the government of Iranian President Masoud Bezhikian had withdrawn the bill from parliament in May, after Zahra Behrouz Azar, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, stated that “discussion of the bill in a non-judicial committee led to substantial changes in its text, to the point that its name was completely changed.”

She added: “Since the government’s primary goal is to protect women from violence, and because the amended bill deviated from this goal, it was decided to retrieve it from parliament.”

In recent years, Iran and Eastern Kurdistan have witnessed rising rates of violence against women, amid the absence of effective government policies to curb the problem, making the delay in passing protective legislation one of the most prominent manifestations of structural violence in the country.

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ANHA