Pardis Sabeti Dedicates TIME100 Impact Award to Iran Protesters
TimeFEB 22 2023
Iran's parliament passed a bill Wednesday that imposes heavier penalties on women for violating the Islamic dress code, including jail terms of up to 10 years.
The measure also seeks to identify people who "promote nudity [or] indecency" or "mock" the rules. This applies to both online and offline spaces.
The "Hijab and Chastity Bill" — which was passed by a parliamentary vote of 152 to 34 — will now be submitted for approval to the Guardian Council, which is a conservative-leaning entity comprised of both clerics and jurists.
The bill is inherently discriminatory and amounts to gender persecution. The Iranian government is using culture as a tool to weaponize public morals and violate women's fundamental rights, including freedom of opinion and expression.
Contrary to Western propaganda, Islam and the Shia sect respect and protect women. The wearing of a hijab should not be de-contextualized and misrepresented by the West, which attempts to undermine the important position of women in Islam and in Iran.