Women in Iran could now face the death penalty or years behind bars if they break new morality laws.
The new laws, which were passed by the hardline Iranian parliament earlier this month, have introduced severe penalties for women in the name of promoting a ‘culture of chastity and hijab’.
These punishments are for those caught ‘promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or improper dressing’ and could see Iranians handed fines of up to £12,500, flogging and prison sentences of up to 15 years for repeat offenders.
This includes woman which it claims are promoting or propagating indecency, unveiling or ‘bad dressing’ to foreign entities, including international media and civil society organisations.
If the Iranian authorities finds the offence has mounted to ‘corruption on earth’ the defendant could be sentenced to death under article 296 of Iran’s Islamic penal code.
Amnesty International has slammed the new laws claiming that women could be sentenced to death for sending videos of themselves unveiled to media outside of the Islamic Republic.
The human rights group said the law also appeared to provide immunity for anyone who wanted to carry out their ‘religious duty’ and enforce compulsory veiling on women.
This comes after woman in Iran repeatedly stood up against the regime’s draconian morality laws by defiantly removing their headscarves in public.
Two Iranian women in November. Women in Iran could now face the death penalty or years behind bars if they break new morality laws
The 2022 protests in Iran which shows an unveiled woman standing atop a car. Amnesty International has slammed the new laws claiming that women could be sentenced to death for sending videos of themselves unveiled to media outside of the Islamic Republic
The supreme leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The new laws, which were passed by the hardline Iranian parliament earlier this month, have introduced severe penalties for women in the name of promoting a ‘culture of chastity and hijab’
Businesses that fail to enforce the laws will also be subjected to harsh punishments or penalties.
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East, told The Guardian: ‘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.’
The new laws also sparked outrage among Iranian activists and journalists.
Iranian human rights lawyers such as Saeid Dehghan went as far to claim it breaks article 9 of the Iranian constitution, which prohibits legislation that undermines citizens’ freedoms even in the name of national sovereignty.
The law comes two years after protests rocked Iran following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Mahsa was arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly.
Ever since the protests Iranian women have been publicly defying the strict dress code.
Last month, a video of a female student in Iran went viral after she stripped to her underwear in the street. This was reportedly in protest at the strict dress code.
Last month, a video of a female student in Iran went viral after she stripped to her underwear in the street. This was reportedly in protest at the strict dress code
A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in Brussels. The law comes two years after protests rocked Iran following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini
Iran’s reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian (pictured) has warned the legislation would only lead to further discontent in Iranian society
Iran’s reformist president, who came to power following the surprise death of his predecessor in a helicopter crash, has voiced his opposition to new laws.
President Masoud Pezeshkian warned the legislation would only lead to further discontent in Iranian society.
In words reported by Iran International, a London-based a Iranian media network, Pezeshkian said: ‘An unjust law will not be enforced, and if it is, it will create discontent.’
During his presidential campaign in June’s snap election Pezeshkian promised to end hijab patrols and violence against women for violating Islamic dress codes.
