Iranian authorities have sparked outrage once again by punishing a woman with 74 lashes for refusing to cover her head with the hijab.

According to various reports, a 33-year-old woman identified as Roya Heshmati was convicted of "encouraged permissiveness [by appearing] disgracefully in busy public places in Tehran."

The punishment of 74 lashes was carried out in accordance with law and sharia, specifically for violating public morality. The woman of Kurdish origin was also fined 12 million rials (approximately $25) for not wearing the Islamic veil in public.

According to Heshmati's lawyer, Maziar Tatai, the woman was arrested in April 2023 for "publishing a photo on social media without wearing a headscarf." It should be remembered that Iran and Afghanistan remain the only countries that continue to legally require women to cover their neck and head with a hijab.

Heshmati defied the authorities during the flogging

In a story shared by The Jerusalem Post, Heshmati described the moment when she received the punishment of 74 lashes and revealed that during the punishment, she defied the authorities and refused to wear the veil despite the insistence of the officials and the recommendation of her lawyer.

The woman said that an officer even threatened to carry out more severe lashes if she did not wear the hijab, but when she refused once again, two women intervened, forcibly placing a scarf on her head and they handcuffed her to make sure it stayed on.

Heshmati stated that during the punishment, she sang quietly, expressing her resistance and solidarity with women. Likewise, Heshmati said she removed her veil as soon as she left the room.

The authorities have increased repression

Although whippings for violating the dress code are unusual in Iran, the authorities have intensified repression after anti-government protests that emerged in late 2022, triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman arrested after an alleged dress code violation.

Amini died while in police custody, sparking a protest movement that has seen a growing number of Iranian women publicly defying norms. Authorities have responded by installing surveillance cameras in public places, closing businesses that break the rules and debating a bill to toughen penalties related to the dress code.

The incident is reminiscent of another tragic event that occurred in October 2023, when Armita Geravand, an Iranian teenager, was injured in the Tehran subway while not wearing a veil and died weeks later. The official version attributed her injury to blood pressure problems or a fall, but activists abroad have suggested she may have been attacked for not wearing the hijab.

Reactions on social media due to Heshmati's conviction