By MECRA STAFF
After the 1979 revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, hijab became compulsory for all school girls and women from six years old. According to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei “Hijab is the solution to end sexual violence.”
In a tweet on may 15th he said “ Women’s nudity and exploitation for men’s pleasure led to the destruction of families and the weakening of the foundation of the family in the West. When the family is weakened and destroyed in a society, corruption becomes institutionalized in that society. ” He tweeted in English something similar, "in Western culture, a #woman must expose herself to men in order to be a source of pleasure for them! Is there a graver form of oppression?! They call this ‘#freedom,’ and the opposite they call ‘captivity’! While on the contrary, women’s modest dress brings them respect."
On may 17th Ayatollah Khamenei in a speech stressed his concern about the importance of hijab and asked girls and women to “Pay attention to the regulations of distance between men and women in Islam.“
Hijab became mandatory for Iranians on Instagram. Following Khamenei’s speech, Ramin Pashaei the social deputy of the FATA NAJA cyber crimes police (Police for the Sphere of the Production and Exchange of Information) has announced that the discovery of the absence of hijab in cyberspace will be one of the abnormal sub-categories and will be considered a violation and there is no difference between popular people and people with fewer followers. "The law will treat everyone equally," according to Pashaei. When a celebrity shares images and videos with inappropriate coverage in cyberspace, his or her actions promote immodesty in society. Pashaei referred to the Law on the Examination of Cases of Cybercrime, adopted in 2009, which criminalizes the dissemination of content that is contrary to public morality and decency.
FATA police announced the arrest of 320 people who were without hijab so far. Ali Reza Japalaghy is an Iranian parkour star that has been arrested for publishing kiss photos of him and his girlfriend on the roof of a building in Tehran. The photos were posted on Instagram but the account's page has subsequently been disabled. Reactions to the incident gained attention on Iranian social media. It has also gained attention in international media.
Tehran’s Police chief said “We are not against sport, but they will be punished for this immoral behavior certainly. Parkour is a good sport, we oppose the norm-breaking, vulgar and inappropriate behavior of him and his entourage.”
Mahdieh Golroo, a former student activist and women's rights activist, tweeted that this is the reality of life in the Islamic Republic. "Do not create a misleading imagery of women with colorful photos and without the obligatory hijab out of sight of the agents. "The reality of our situation is this compulsory hijab, even on Instagram." Her account has been restricted since she tweeted that.
An antonymous Iranian twitter user wrote that it’s not a new things and last year she has been fined because of publishing a photo of herself without scarf in her private Instagram account.
After the FATA Iranian Cyber police (پلیس فضای تولید و تبادل اطلاعات ایران) announced the arrest of 320 people who were without hijab, there were reactions to the restrictions. A user wrote, “after the implementation of the compulsory hijab on Instagram, the only compulsory plan that will remain is to implement compulsory hijab rules at home, which will solve all the problems of the country! “
“In a country that advertises shampoo with a woman in scarf in the bathroom, nothing is unlikely!”