Politics

Women without hijab cannot visit Iranian museums, monuments

Tehran, Apr 24 (EFE).- In a fresh attempt to enforce hijab, Iranian officials declared Monday that unveiled women will be denied entry to museums and historical sites.

According to the Etemad newspaper, the head of museums, Morteza Adibzadeh, said the directive was to ensure public safety and protect culture.

Per the order, women who do not cover themselves with a veil cannot visit the National Museum of Iran in the capital and monuments like the famous Persepolis.

In recent weeks, images of unveiled young women flashing the victory sign in front of the tomb of Cyrus II the Great, a king from the 11th century BC, near the ruins of Persepolis, have gone viral on social networks.

Many Iranian women have stopped wearing the mandatory Islamic veil as a mark of protest and disobedience after the alleged death in custody of Kurdish Mahsa Amini in Tehran on Sep.16.

Amini was detained by the morality police on Sep.13 allegedly for improperly donning her hijab.

The custodial death sparked pan-Iran street protests that continued for a month.

At one point, the unrest morphed into demands calling for the end of the Islamic Republic founded by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.

Hundreds of people reportedly died in almost three months of protests.

The ban on museums is the latest attempt by the Shia-Muslim government to reimpose the hijab, a mandatory garment in the Islamic country since 1983.

Iranian police have installed surveillance cameras in public to identify women not wearing a veil.

Last week, the Iranian authorities shut down several stores and eateries for failing to comply with the rule requiring women to wear the Islamic headscarf in public.

Police also sent messages to 3,500 women for violating the rule as they were seen driving without wearing the hijab.

The police have asked large stores to place gatekeepers at the entrances to warn women to cover their heads.

The law punishes women who do not cover themselves with a veil with fines and up to two months in prison.

The authorities are also considering depriving banking services to the unveiled women.

The authorities are also considering other options like depriving banking services for women without hijab.

Women caught uncovered in cars face possible seizure of their vehicles.

The judicial authorities said they would prosecute people, encouraging women to remove the mandatory Islamic headscarf.

At the beginning of the month, the education and health ministries announced that they would not allow students who do not wear headscarves to attend universities and colleges. EFE

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