Iranian woman whipped 74 times for refusing to wear hijab

Roya Heshmati, 33, was told she was being punished for violating public morals

An Iranian woman received 74 lashes for refusing to wear a hijab, ignoring strict dress codes even as she was taken to be flogged.

Roya Heshmati, 33, was accused of “encouraging permissiveness” after she appeared naked several times in the capital Tehran.

«Her punishment of 74 lashes was carried out in accordance with the law and Sharia» and «for violating public morals,» the judiciary website Mizan Online reported late Saturday.

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Ms Heshmati was also reportedly ordered to pay a fine of 12 million rials (£225).

“The convicts… encouraged permissiveness by [appearing] shamefully in busy public places in Tehran,” — Mizan said.

All women in Iran have been required by law to cover their necks and heads since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Revolution.

Roya Heshmati posted a photo of herself online without the obligatory hijab. Photo: Agenzia Nova

Whippings for dress code violations are rare, although officials have increasingly cracked down on those who break the rules after the practice increased during anti-government protests that began in late 2022.

Mass demonstrations were provoked by the September events. The 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman arrested on suspicion of violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for women.

During the protests, female demonstrators threw off their headscarves or even burned them.

Other women also increasingly violated the dress code, leading to reprisals.

Heshmati was identified as Kurdish by Hengaw, a Kurdish human rights group.

Iranian women risk revealing their heads in Tehran after the morality police are strengthened in 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/Wana

«As the lashes struck my body, I whispered: 'In the name of woman, in the name of life, the dawn will come,'» BBC Persian quoted her as saying, adding that she refused to cover her hair even when she was taken to be flogged.

She was arrested in April “for posting a photo on social media without a hijab,” she said. Lawyer Maziar Tatai told reformist daily Sharg.

Ms Heshmati was also charged with “not wearing the Muslim burqa in public,” he added.

Authorities have installed cameras surveillance in public places. monitor violations of the hijab law and close down businesses that violate these rules.

The Iranian parliament also discussed a bill that would increase penalties for those who violate the dress code.