RFL/RE – Iran has fined and shut down scores of businesses for allegedly flouting the country’s controversial hijab law in recent years.
Among them were pharmacies accused of failing to impose the Islamic head scarf on their female staff and customers.
Now, in their latest attempt to encourage compliance, the authorities have said that pharmacies could receive reduced drug quotas if they do not adhere to the hijab requirement.
A new directive issued by the Health Ministry on May 5 directly links a pharmacy’s compliance with the hijab law to its allocation of medicine. A chronic drug shortage has forced the authorities to allocate medicine among thousands of pharmacies across the country.
The move has been widely mocked in Iran, where some have criticized the clerical establishment for politicizing people’s access to medicine.
‘Deterrent Measures’
Heydar Mohammadi, head of Iran’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said on May 5 that pharmacies are obliged to ensure “proper attire” is observed on their premises.
“Compliance with [dress] norms is among the issues that play a role in pharmacies’ quotas,” said Mohammadi, a deputy health minister, during a public forum in the capital, Tehran.
The exact details of the directive are unclear. But Mohammadi said reduced quotas are among the “deterrent measures” used to ensure pharmacies followed the hijab law.
“If those measures do not work, violators will be prosecuted,” he added.
In an apparent attempt at damage control, the FDA in a May 6 statement accused the media of misrepresenting the deputy health minister’s comments. It added that the issue of attire pertained to the “professional outfits” worn by the pharmacies’ staff.
An FDA official, who spoke to RFE/RL’s Radio Farda on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said there were “too many” pharmacies in the country and the Health Ministry was struggling to distribute enough medicine to them.
‘Entirely Illegal’
The FDA’s statement has done little to stem the tide of criticism.
U.S.-based legal analyst Pegah Banihashemi said the decision to link pharmacies’ drug quotas to compliance with the hijab law “is entirely illegal” and a violation of people’s rights.
“Patients who need to procure medicine will become victims of an illegal action by the Health Ministry,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Sadra Mohaqeq, a pro-reformist journalist, accused the authorities of taking people’s health “hostage.”
Hamed Bidi, head of Karzar Net, an online petition website, said the measure amounts to a “crime against humanity.”
Tehran-based activist Reza Saliani posted on X an imaginary conversation between a customer and a pharmacist, who said that he does not have a particular drug because “we don’t have enough hijabs to afford it.”
Hijab Crackdown
The authorities have intensified their enforcement of the hijab since monthslong nationwide antiestablishment protests rocked the country in 2022.
The unprecedented demonstrations were triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was accused of improperly wearing her head scarf. During the protests, women and girls removed and burned their hijabs.
As an increasing number of women flout the hijab rules, officials have threatened violators with hefty fines and imprisonment.
The authorities have also shut down scores of businesses, including retail stores, restaurants, and pharmacies, for failure to comply with the hijab law.
Last month, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) established a new unit in Tehran to enforce Islamic dress codes amid a fresh crackdown on women not wearing the head scarf.