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Iranian society 'disillusioned, fatigued': Hijab law will 'further marginalise, delegitimize regime'
FRANCE 24 English
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12/16/2024
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00:00
In Iran, a controversial law proposing stiffer penalties for those who defy
00:04
restrictions on the hijab goes to President Mossadegh Pazeshkan today.
00:09
The hijab and chastity law outlines fines of up to 2,000 US dollars for women
00:14
uncovering their hair and may also result in social media bans and prison
00:18
sentences for repeat offenders. Iranian women have regularly flouted the
00:22
existing hijab laws since the start of protests sparked by the death in police
00:27
custody of 22-year-old Masih Amini in September 2022. Supporters of Pazeshkan
00:33
have urged him to scrap the law and he himself says it is ambiguous and not
00:37
easy to enforce. We can go now to Tara Khangaloo, journalist and adjunct
00:42
professor at Georgetown University. She is the author of The Heartbeat of Iran.
00:47
Good morning Tara, thanks for joining us. What does this law entail for women and
00:52
indeed men in Iran, should it be enforced? Thanks so much Oliver, good
00:58
morning to you and your viewers. I should also add children, by the way, to those
01:04
who are going to be affected by this, what so many people are calling medieval
01:08
law. Many people in Iran, including those that I've spoken to in the last couple
01:13
of days, have said this is an insult to us Iranians and what the law entails.
01:20
Imagine all the restrictions that Iranians have been facing over the years
01:26
since 1979 when it comes to enforcing compulsory hijab and various rules
01:34
pertaining to ways women appear and also men in public and make it a hundred
01:41
times worse. From financial implication for both women and men and also children,
01:47
as I mentioned, under the age of 18, to business owners, restaurant owners, taxi
01:53
drivers. It is going to affect every single aspect and layer of society. Again,
01:59
so many people in Iran, as history has shown, are calling this law another way
02:06
for the Islamic regime to enforce its gender apartheid against women, but also
02:16
find ways to make money. So this is another moneymaker for the Iranian regime
02:22
because we're going to see severe fines, both again of civilians but also business
02:29
owners and pretty much every layer of the society. And Mosul Pazdeshgan
02:36
has expressed reservations about the law himself. Is it likely he'll refuse to
02:40
sign it? That's an interesting question. I believe he has until December 18 to
02:46
sign it. And if he does not sign it, in ways it can still go into effect. But
02:52
what I find interesting, Oliver, is how this law came about. I mean, it wasn't
02:57
even presented openly for the parliament to vote on it. And it really was, like so
03:05
many other laws that were pushed, done behind closed doors. I think what caught my
03:12
attention is also how some clerics, non-political clerics, and even religious
03:18
factions of the society are showing their opposition to this law. So it's not just
03:22
ordinary Iranian citizens who are against this, but also some religious factions who
03:30
previously in the past years did not show their opposition to the government's
03:35
enforcement of such laws. And I think that itself tells us a lot, is that so much taboos
03:42
have been broken in Iran when it comes to people's grievances, when it comes to the
03:49
Islamic regime's really medieval enforcement of such laws toward a population so vibrant
03:56
and so deserving, really. And so are we seeing here a cultural battle between different
04:03
factions, between the institutions of power itself? Well, certainly. But I think the
04:09
biggest contrast and clash we're seeing is between a small faction of those in power
04:16
in Iran who are really holding by the threat, who are trying to do everything to stay in
04:21
power but also suck the economic resources of the society, and millions of ordinary Iranians
04:29
who want to belong to the rest of the world, who want to enjoy their human rights, who
04:33
want to live life normally in prosperity with the ability to dream and grow. I mean, right
04:39
now in Iran, if you look closely, we see videos of Iranian women not wearing the hijab on
04:46
the street. I mean, that's a simple act of resistance, but it has a high price, right?
04:53
I was speaking with a young woman in Iran actually yesterday, and she said, Tara, look
04:58
at the region. Even Saudi Arabia has dealt with its strict rules. But look at Iran. At a time,
05:06
2024, going into 2025, at a time when so many countries in the region have dealt with these
05:13
issues, Iran is just going backward. And that is an insult to us. That is an insult to a society
05:19
that deserves so much more. And opponents of the law, including, as you said, some
05:25
conservative clerics, say it's just simply unpopular. And if it is unpopular, is this
05:31
a sense that perhaps there are some within the establishment thinking that it's really not worth
05:36
inflaming public opinion any further? I think that's precisely what it's going to do. But also,
05:43
Oliver, it's going to have a tremendous effect on the mental health of Iranian people, a society
05:49
so disillusioned, so fatigued, so tired, that some people, the conservatives, are thinking,
05:54
you know what, we're going to impose this law. We're going to do all we can to suck the air out
05:58
of this population so that they're just tired. We can quiet them. But actually, I think it's
06:07
going to have reverse impact. I think it's further going to marginalize and delegitimize
06:14
the Islamic regime. It's going to further de-mask their dehumanizing attitude toward
06:22
their population. And quite frankly, it's going to potentially lead to more protests.
06:29
So I do wonder what the government thinks about this. Do they think that they're just going to
06:34
quiet the population based on this severe disillusionment and fatigue and apathy,
06:41
quite frankly? Or aren't they afraid of mass waves of protests that will ensue? So I think
06:49
we have to wait and see on that. But one last thing, if I may, I was speaking with a journalist
06:54
in Iran, very close to the topic, and she said most likely what we are going to see is that
07:01
they're going to delay and delay and delay the enforcement of this law. So we'll see.
07:07
Thank you very much for that, Tara Kagrel.
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