Iran Closing Businesses Not Following Hijab Law

Iran Closing Businesses Not Following Hijab Law

Iranian officials have been shutting down businesses that they say violate the law requiring women to wear head covers called hijabs.

Ali Akbar Javidan is the police commander of Kermanshah Province. He said the Public Places Supervision¹ Department, along with other agencies, has begun enforcing "the chastity and hijab plan."

Javidan said 45 businesses were closed after ignoring warnings to follow the hijab law.

Iran recently launched a new surveillance program for enforcing that law.

Iranian women walk on a street amid the implementation² of the new hijab surveillance in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters

Iranian women walk on a street amid the implementation of the new hijab surveillance in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters

Many women in Iran have publicly opposed the law since the death last September of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old Kurdish woman died while in police detention³. She had been arrested for not wearing the head cover. Her death led to nationwide protests.

Security forces violently suppressed the demonstrations⁴. A report by the Human Rights Activists⁵ News Agency in early January found that 516 protesters have been killed, including 70 children.

The U.S.-based group said about 19,200 people also were arrested, including almost 700 students.

Homayoun Katouzian is an Iranian studies professor at Oxford⁶ University. He criticized Iran's law requiring the hijab in an interview with VOA.

"When prayer and fasting are not compulsory⁷, and there is no crime for not doing them, why should the hijab be compulsory?"

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has threatened those who do not follow the law with "deprivation⁸ of public services." The minister formerly⁹ served as commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps¹⁰.

Words in This Story

mandatory¹¹ — adj. required by a law or rule

chastity — n. the state of being morally pure or decent

surveillance — n. the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime

compulsory — adj. required by a law or rule

deprivation — n. the state of not having something that people need

1 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

2 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

3 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

7 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

8 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

9 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

10 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。