Iranian Clinic Shut After Doctor Defends Woman For Her Stance On Hijab

Since Amini’s death, Iranians have flooded into the streets across the country to protest against a lack of rights, with women and schoolgirls making unprecedented shows of support in the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.

Authorities in the northeastern Iranian city of Kashmar have shut down a clinic after a confrontation between two women over wearing a head scarf, a topic that has been at the center of months of unrest since a young woman died while in police custody after being detained over how she was wearing hers.

A video that appeared on social media on February 4 shows a veiled woman warning another woman for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. A doctor at the clinic then defends the woman’s right not to wear a hijab and says that her move is a symbol of protest.

“This is a criticism of the mullahs and I defend her,” the doctor added in the video. The date of the recording of the video could not be independently verified.

داستان از قرار هست که در مطب دکتری در کاشمر بین یک خانم چادری و یک خانمی که ظاهراً کشف حجاب کرده دعوای پیش میاد و واکنش دکترو ببینید … pic.twitter.com/0rJetFzyTu

— Mahdi Moinivala (@moinivala) February 4, 2023

The hard-line Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted the prosecutor of Razavi Khorasan Province as saying the doctor was summoned and charged for “insulting a hijabi woman and insulting clerics,” while his clinic was also sealed.

In recent weeks, numerous reports have been published about the sealing of businesses, restaurants, cafes, and in some cases even pharmacies for owners and managers failing to observe Islamic laws and mandatory hijab rules.

The wave of closings comes amid the months-long public anger that erupted after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in September while in custody after being detained by morality police in Tehran for “improperly” wearing a head scarf.

Since Amini’s death, Iranians have flooded into the streets across the country to protest against a lack of rights, with women and schoolgirls making unprecedented shows of support in the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.

In response, the authorities have launched a brutal crackdown on dissent, detaining thousands and handing down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda