Woman Who Protested Iran's Hijab Law Learns Her Fate

Unnamed woman sentenced to 2 years in prison
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 8, 2018 2:07 PM CST

A woman who disappeared in January after removing her hijab and using it as a flag in protest of Iranian law was sentenced to two years in prison Wednesday, the BBC reports. The unnamed woman, previously described as a 31-year-old mother, whose protest spread across social media was found guilty of "encouraging moral corruption." The majority of the woman's sentence was suspended, and she will serve three months without parole. According to the Guardian, Tehran's chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, was unhappy with the "light" sentence given to the woman, who he says removed her hijab to "encourage corruption." Dolatabadi says the woman is "in need of long-term medical treatment and has to be seen by a psychiatrist."

Sources say the woman wasn't sorry for removing her hijab in public and attempted to convince the judge that it was the law, not her, that was wrong, Deutsche Welle reports. Iranian law says all women must have their heads fully covered at all times while in public. While enforcement of the law has relaxed in recent years, Dolatabadi says they are cracking down. "We must act with force against people who deliberately question the rules on the Islamic veil," the Guardian quotes him as saying. More than 30 women have been arrested since the end of December for removing their hijabs in public. Dolatabadi says the woman sentenced Wednesday plans to appeal. (More Iran stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X