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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Ryan Fahey

Women could be fined up to £57,000 for flouting Iran's strict new hijab rules

Women found guilty of flouting the Iranian regime's new hijab laws could be fined up to £57,000.

In Iran, the religious leaders have ruled that women must wear the Islamic head-covering at all times while in public.

Politician and Cultural Commission member Hojjat ol-Eslam Hossein Jalali, said over the weekend that those found guilty could have their everyday freedoms stripped, including having their driving licenses and passports taken.

For celebrities and social media influencers, they may have their use of the internet revoked in addition to the fine.

According to Iran International, the law will apply to women seen in public spaces without the covering, while riding in cars, and at schools and universities.

An unveiled woman standing on top of a vehicle as thousands make their way towards Aichi cemetery in Saqez, Kurdistan (UGC/AFP via Getty Images)

The uproar after the months-long anti-hijab protests that started in September has lead politicians to find alternative ways of enforcing the hijab law.

It came after Mahsa Amini was beaten to death by the country's morality police while in custody.

Before the protests, those who broke the law would be slapped with a small fine. However, if they had previous offences they could be physically beaten with lashings.

Anyone suspected of publicly defying the hijab on a larger scale would face imprisonment.

Lawmakers say the law will still be enforced but that the punishment will be less severe (Iranian Supreme Leader'S Office/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

A lot of tough talk, but the country's repressive morality police have largely disappeared from the streets of Iran as the government fears enraging the public again.

Jalali originally suggested the plans in an interview with Iranian media in December.

He said: "It is possible to notify non-hijab wearers in the form of a text message that they did not observe the hijab rule and that they must respect the law."

Protesters hold up a picture of Mahsa Amini, who was killed by morality police while in their custody (AFP via Getty Images)

The streets of Iran raged for three months last year as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps tried to suppress the public anger with force and all other means at its disposal.

It was one of the country's deepest challenges to the Islamic regime since the revolution 1979.

As of November 29, at least 459 protesters had been killed during the protests. Sixty-four of those were minors.

After Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, women and girls were made to wear the hijab at all times in public.

Jalali said there would be no change in the way hijab and chastity laws were enforced, but that methods of imposing the ultra-conservative rules would be less violent from now on.

"Moving away from the hijab means a retreat of the Islamic republic," Jalali added.

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