Two Iranian women were arrested for not covering their hair after a man attacks them with yogurt
Two Iranian women were arrested after they were attacked with yogurt. It seems that the yogurt was used to cover their hair in public.
The viral video shows two female customers being approached by a man who starts talking to them.
Then he takes what appears to him to be a tub of yogurt off a shelf and throws it at them.
Iran’s judiciary stated that the women were detained because they showed their hair, which is against Iranian law.
It added that the man was also arrested for disrupting public order.
The arrests follow months of protests in the country demanding an end to the compulsory wearing of the hijab (headscarf).
The footage shows the woman in the shop, waiting to be served by a member of staff. A man who looks to be passing by then walks in to confront them.
After he speaks, he repeatedly attacks them with yogurt. The attacker is then pushed out of the shop by the shopkeeper.
Arrest warrants were issued and the three were subsequently arrested, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.
It added that “necessary notices” have been issued to the owner of the shop to ensure compliance with the law.
Not wearing the hijab in public is illegal for women in Iran, however in big cities, many walk around without it despite the rules.
Anger and frustration with the law have driven dissent in Iranian society.
Protests spread across the Islamic Republic in September following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained by morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab “improperly”.
The protests widened, but they remained rooted in the issue of the hijab.
Thousands have been arrested and four protesters have been executed since December. But the authorities show no sign of relenting.
One hardline Iranian MP, Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, has issued an ultimatum to the judiciary to come up with measures to put a stop to the flouting of the rules within the next 48 hours.
And on Saturday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated that Iranian women should wear the hijab as a “religious necessity”.
“Hijab is a legal matter and adherence to it is obligatory,” he said in quotes cited by AFP news agency.
