The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic audited the theocratic regime's procedures. A state-run app encourages denunciations and discrimination.
Iran is increasingly using electronic surveillance and public information to report on women who refuse to wear the compulsory veil in public, even as hardliners push for tougher penalties for those who protest the law, according to a report by the United Nations posted on friday.
The findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran come after it determined last year that the country's theocracy was responsible for the "physical violence" that led to the deaths of Mahsa Amini. Her death sparked nationwide protests against compulsory hijab laws and public disobedience that continues to this day, despite the threat of violent arrest and imprisonment.
“Two and a half years after the protests began in September 2022, women and girls in Iran continue to face systematic discrimination, both in law and practice, that permeates every aspect of their lives, particularly regarding the enforcement of the compulsory hijab.”says the report.
The state is increasingly resorting to state-sponsored surveillance in an apparent attempt to force businesses and individuals to comply with the use of the hijab, presenting it as a civic responsibility.
Iran's mission to the UN in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the 20-page report's findings.
Drones and surveillance cameras
In the report, UN investigators describe how Iran is increasingly resorting to electronic surveillance. These measures include the deployment of “aerial drone surveillance” by Iranian officials to monitor women in public places. Amirkabir University of Tehran, authorities installed facial recognition software at the entrance to also detect women not wearing hijabs, the report said.
Surveillance cameras on Iran's main roads are also believed to be involved in the search for unveiled women. UN investigators said they obtained the "Nazer" mobile app, offered by the Iranian police, which allows the public to report unveiled women in vehicles such as ambulances, buses, subway cars, and taxis.
Users can add the location, date, time, and license plate of the vehicle in which the suspected hijab violation occurred, which in turn flags the vehicle online and alerts police, the report states. “A text message is then sent (in real time) to the vehicle’s registered owner, warning them that they have been detected violating hijab laws and that their vehicle will be impounded if they ignore these warnings.”
These text messages have led to dangerous situations. In July 2024, police officers shot and paralyzed a woman who, activists said, had received such a text and was fleeing a checkpoint near the Caspian Sea.
The tension persists
Amini's death triggered months of protests and a security crackdown that left more than 500 people dead and more than 22.000 arrested. Following the mass demonstrations, police eased enforcement of hijab laws, but intensified them in April 2024 under what authorities called the Noor Plan (or “Light”).
At least 618 women have been arrested under the initiative, according to UN investigators, citing a local group of human rights activists in Iran.
Meanwhile, the regime executed at least 938 people last year, three times as many as in 2021, according to the UN. While many were convicted of drug offenses, the report notes that the executions “indicate a link with the general repression of dissent during this period.”
As Iran continues its crackdown on the hijab, it also faces an economic crisis due to US sanctions stemming from its rapidly advancing nuclear program.
While President Donald Trump has called for new negotiations, Iran has yet to respond to a letter he sent to its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85 years old. Social unrest, coupled with economic problems, remain a concern for Iran's theocracy.
Photo: YouTube screenshot. In Tehran, a young woman identified as a student at the Islamic Azad University stripped naked on school grounds, an act that activists and human rights defenders claim was a protest against Iran's strict dress code, which requires women to cover their heads when in public.
(With information from AP)
Source: INFOBAE
Massive complaints against the wives and daughters of government officials
Although I don't agree with women's dignity being denigrated as this woman did, it's no less true that all Iranian women should protest without fear of death or imprisonment. If the tyrannical government mistreats them, they should leave the country. Let the tyrannical Muslims multiply, men with men, if they can. Woe to Iran without its women whom they mistreat.