Two women in Iran have been arrested after being attacked with yogurt for not covering their hair in public. The attack was caught on camera and went viral on social media. In the video, the
attacker, a man, approaches the two women in a shop and then throws yogurt over their heads. The Iranian judiciary said that the women were detained for showing their hair, which is illegal in Iran, and the man has been arrested for disturbing public order. The arrests come after months of protests in the country against the compulsory wearing of the hijab.
The video shows the women in the shop, waiting to be served by a member of staff. A man who looks to be passing by then walks in to confront them. After he speaks, he repeatedly attacks them with yogurt. The attacker is then pushed out of the shop by the shopkeeper. Arrest warrants were issued, and the three were subsequently arrested, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.
Not wearing the hijab in public is illegal for women in Iran, and those who break the law face punishment. However, in big cities, many women walk around without it despite the rules. The protests against the hijab have been ongoing for months, and they have spread across the Islamic Republic. In September, protests broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained by morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly."
Despite the protests, the Iranian authorities have not shown any signs of relenting. Thousands have been arrested, and four protesters have been executed since December. One hardline Iranian MP, Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, has issued an ultimatum to the judiciary to come up with measures to put a stop to the flouting of the rules within the next 48 hours. And on Saturday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated that Iranian women should wear the hijab as a "religious necessity."
The issue of the hijab in Iran is a complex one. While some see it as a matter of religious observance, others see it as a tool of oppression used by the Iranian government to control women. The protests against the hijab are just one part of a wider movement in Iran calling for greater civil rights and freedoms.
Despite the risks, many Iranian women are choosing to defy the law and go without the hijab in public. They face arrest, imprisonment, and even violence, but they are determined to make their voices heard. The use of yogurt as a weapon in the attack on the two women is a disturbing development, and it highlights the lengths to which some are willing to go to enforce the law.
The Iranian government's response to the protests has been harsh, with thousands of people arrested and many more facing prosecution. The authorities seem determined to crush any dissent, and they show no sign of changing their stance on the hijab.
The situation in Iran is a reminder of the ongoing struggle for women's rights in many parts of the world. While progress has been made in some areas, there is still much work to be done to ensure that women are treated equally and afforded the same rights as men. The fight for gender equality is not over, and it is important that we continue to speak out against discrimination and oppression wherever it occurs. Photo by Apcbg, Wikimedia commons.