Scuffles erupt during student protest against Iran's mandatory headscarf

Scuffles erupt during student protest against Iran's mandatory headscarf
Tehran University saw protests against Iran's mandatory dress code, with brief scuffles breaking out between students for and against the law.
2 min read
13 May, 2019
Students are seen at campus of Tehran University [Getty Images]

Iranian university students have held a campus protest against authorities' increasing pressure on women to wear mandatory headscarves in public, reported Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency.

The report says the students - both men and women - briefly scuffled with another group of Tehran University students who supported the country's conservative dress code.

The headscarf, or hijab, is required in public for all women in Iran. Those who violate the rules are usually sentenced to two months in prison or less and fined around $25.

Prominent human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison for a number of charges after defending anti-hijab protesters. Sotoudeh, 55, will only serve the longest sentence of 12 years, according to her husband Reza Khandan.

Before her arrest, Sotoudeh had taken on the cases of several women arrested for appearing in public without headscarves in protest at the mandotary dress code.

Shapark Shajarizadeh, an Iranian woman who in December removed her obligatory Islamic headscarf, has said she has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Iranian authorities have adopted a tougher approach toward such protests since 2017, after dozens of women publicly took off their headscarves.

The enforced Islamic dress code - in place since the 1979 revolution - considers Islamic veiling or hijab, obligatory for any female aged above 13.

It also states that women should cover themselves from head to toe while disavowing any figure-hugging dress.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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