Iranian woman Mahsa Amini was arrested by morality police for not complying with the official dress code and later died after torture in custody. Iran has been witnessing protests on Amini’s death. The reaction started in Tehran but then spread across the country.
Wearing hijab to cover hair, and loose clothing is underpinned by stringent Iranian law. Whosoever violates the law stands accountable, as this is punishable. Protection of women is the rationale behind having morality police and dress code for women in Iran.
It is believed that inappropriate dressing of women provokes men, and, as a result, crime flourishes. Whether or not the law negates one’s right to freedom is a matter for everyone to have an opinion on.
In recent years, the hijab debate has grabbed media attention from time to time. Hijab is becoming a matter of freedom and some quarters consider it a coerced implication by the state. Three different hijab-related occurrences in different countries have put the matter under the spotlight on a large scale in the last couple of years.
France was the first country that banned the veil apparently to bolster the country’s secular system and image, which drew extraordinary condemnation across the world. A couple of months ago, a shocking incident happened in the Karnataka state of India, where junior students who wore hijab were denied entry to their college on the pretext of violating the dress code of the institution.
This was followed by a massive reaction from Muslim states, especially Pakistan, as the incident debunked the notion of India being a so-called secular state. In response to the ban, many Muslim countries even considered discontinuing commercial relations with India as a mark of protest.
Now we see upheaval in Iran, which has already taken precious lives. The Western media has largely managed to raise serious questions over the freedom of women in Iran ever since the incident took place.
Be it the outright ban on hijab or the imposition of it as part of the dress code, it is always an attack on the freedom of women. International laws protect the right to live without suppression as well as the right to carry out religious activities. Any form of strict rules in any country causes an abyss of gloominess and disrupts the mental health of the citizens.
Women should have the liberty to breathe easy, like men do. Violent behaviour against non-compliance with some dress code in this modern world would take us back to dark ages.
International institutions should also make tangible deliberations to push back uncomfortable regulations of any country, which often cause unrest following horrible incidents within the state.
ABDUL NAJEEB
LARKANA
