Iranian MPs Support Police Repression Under Unapproved Hijab Bill

Over 160 Iranian lawmakers have endorsed further police crackdowns on the hijab before the approval of a new bill by the Guardian Council.

The declaration was made public during a session on Sunday by parliament member Ali Karimi Firoozjaei, who indicated that the number of supporting signatures continues to rise amid deepening oppression.

The lawmakers have called on various institutions to support the renewed police crackdown.

The stance aligns with actions taken since April 13, under the Plan Noor, which have sparked debate due to their severity.

The Revolutionary Guard has also joined in supporting the police mission to further enforce hijab, which has seen violent and sexual abuse of women in Iran.

Hossein Shariatmadari, representing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Kayhan newspaper, has voiced approval for the police's actions.

Passed experimentally by the parliament last September for a trial period of three years, the bill proposes severe penalties for hijab defiance, including increased fines and prison terms.

Before any legal endorsement by the Guardian Council, the police have preemptively intensified their crackdown on women and girls. According to statements on May 3 by Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the aggressive approach was agreed upon last year in a meeting with President Ebrahim Raisi.

The escalation has sparked widespread criticism from civil rights activists and ordinary citizens, alarmed by the violent enforcement methods on the streets. Sedigheh Vasmaghi, an imprisoned scholar of Islam and vocal critic of the compulsory hijab policy, has denounced it as a failed policy.

Additionally, a group of 61 lawyers has declared the Plan Noor implementation as violating public freedoms and conflicting with both the Iranian Constitution and international human rights standards.