Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
Iranwire – More than 40 countries have expressed “serious concern” at the recent adoption of the Chastity and Hijab bill by the Iranian parliament, saying the proposed law “considerably aggravates” punishments for women and girls who do not wear a compulsory headscarf.
The bill “also seeks to force non-complying women into an unprecedented social and economic siege, by imposing travel bans, denial of education, of access to health facilities and other public services, and by making it compulsory for private actors, including business owners, to refuse services,” they said in a joint statement delivered to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on October 4.
The Chastity and Hijab bill was approved by lawmakers on September 20, just four days after the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death while the 22-year-old was in custody for an alleged hijab infraction. Amini’s death sparked months of anti-government protests that were brutally repressed by the authorities.
Under the draft law, which requires approval by the hardline Guardians Council, women repeatedly failing to wear a headscarf would face prison terms of up to 10 years.
“We are also deeply troubled by reports of the use of new artificial intelligence and digital facial recognition technology to surveil, arrest and punish women,” the joint statement backed by Canada, the United States and dozens of other countries reads. “These recent developments only aggravate an already dire situation for women and girls, marked by widespread and systematic discrimination in law and practice, in many aspects of their public and private life.”
It also says that women and girls of Iran “should not be treated as second class citizens and must enjoy the full array of their human rights, free from discrimination, surveillance and fear of retribution.”
The backers of the text urge the Iranian authorities “to heed to the legitimate claims of protesters, and to abide by its obligations under international law, including in matters of women’s rights and gender equality.”
