Iranian woman shot over hijab law left paralyzed, says activist

Arezou Badri, 31, has been left paralyzed after she was shot by Iranian police earlier this year for allegedly violating mandatory hijab laws, according to activist and journalist Masih Alinejad.

Citing Badri’s relatives, Alinejad on Friday said doctors determined that the bullet severed Badri’s spinal cord, preventing her from ever walking again.

“Her only ‘crime’ was defying mandatory hijab laws,” Alinejad wrote on X, adding that Badri remains hospitalized amid pressure from authorities on her family to keep silent.

Badri was shot on July 22 while returning home with her sister in Nour County, northern Mazandaran Province.

Reports obtained by Iran International revealed that police opened fire from the rear driver's side of the car stopped on a dirt road, striking Badri in the back and severely damaging her spinal cord and lungs.

A seizure order had been issued for the vehicle in which Badri was a passenger, allegedly due to a violation of Iran's mandatory hijab law. Police issue vehicle seizure alerts if the driver or a passenger are seen without hijab in a car.

The Information Center of the Mazandaran Police Command confirmed the police shooting at the car in which Badri was a passenger, saying that the driver "continued to flee despite police orders, prompting the police to shoot at the car according to the law on the use of firearms."

Badri’s family filed a complaint and the case was heard in early August, however the family was dissatisfied with the outcome and the judicial process.

Following the court hearing, informed sources told Iran International that Badri's relatives were summoned by intelligence and security agencies, pressured to stay silent and urged to withdraw their complaint.

Badri’s case fueled outrage and condemnation from rights groups, who view it as another example of Iran’s escalating violence against women over the hijab.

In 2024, Iranian authorities took action against 30,629 women over allegedly failing to observe compulsory hijab laws, with at least 644 of those women arrested for improper veiling, according to US-based rights group HRANA.