Woman arrested in Iran for cycling without hijab can face lashes

 

A young woman has been arrested in central Iran for “insulting the Islamic hijab”, after a video appeared to show her cycling without a veil.

A short video shot with a mobile phone was circulated on social media networks showing a bare-headed woman cycling in front of a mosque. The long-haired woman, whose head was pixellated, appeared to raise her right arm in the air from time to time as she rode the bike.

“A person who had recently violated norms and insulted the Islamic veil in this region has been arrested,” Mojataba Raei, the governor of Najafabad, told. He said the video of the woman “riding her bike without a veil in the main square” and “in front of a big mosque” provoked protests from residents and clerics in Najafabad.

Under Islamic law in force in Iran since its 1979 revolution, women must wear a hijab that covers the head and neck and that conceals their hair. But many women have pushed the boundaries over the past two decades by allowing their veils to slide back and reveal more hair, especially in Tehran and other major cities.

The woman arrested can face a punishment of 75 lashes, a medieval rules in 2021. We can't accept that anymore!