woman whipped and fined for not wearing Muslim veil

She received 74 lashes for “attack on public morals”. This is the sentence imposed on an Iranian woman for not wearing the Muslim veil, the country’s Judicial Authority announced on Saturday January 6. Roya Heshamti was also ordered to pay a fine. “The convict encouraged permissiveness (by going out) in a despicable manner in busy places in Tehran,” said the judiciary’s media outlet, Mizan Online.

The condemned woman’s lawyer, Maziar Tatati, told the reformist newspaper Shargh that his client had been arrested in April “for having published a photo without wearing the veil on social networks”. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, wearing the veil has been compulsory in Iran for all women, even foreigners, who must hide their hair in public places.

In recent months, more and more women have appeared without veils in public places, particularly after the protest movement triggered by the death in detention in September 2022 of Mahsa Amini, arrested for violating the strict dress code.