Hijab – The shaming of one Iranian woman who refused to wear the obligatory hijab has been met with widespread condemnation and horror.
Iranian authorities handed down their sentence to Roya Heshmati last Wednesday, which sparked a storm of anger via social networks.
Mazyar Tataei, Heshmati’s attorney, said in a local newspaper, Shargh, that the client had been held at her residence in April by what was referred to as morality police. They took her laptop and mobile phone and placed her in a detention facility for 11 days.
He said that at first, Heshmati was sentenced to 13 years and 9 months in prison, with a fine of 112,500,000 rials and 148 lashes. However, an appeal of the verdict reduced the sentence to 12,500,000 rials and 74 lashes.
Heshmati posted the story of her conviction on Instagram and received a flurry of comments.
The 23-year-old claimed that she took off her headscarf on the day she arrived at the courthouse to hear her sentence to throw away another female officer put on her head with force.
In a terrifying account, she told of being eventually cuffed and forced to wear a head scarf, being tethered to a bed in the room that was reminiscent of a “gruesome” medieval torture chamber and was whipped on her back, shoulders as well as waist, thighs, and calves as well as her buttocks.
Heshmati stated that she fought not to express suffering during the trial by whispering, “In honor of females and the name of the living,” she said. Garments of slavery are ripped, and our night will come to an end, and all whips will be cut …” as lashes rained down on her, and the shackles rubbed her wrists.
The woman was later taken to the judge while an officer ensured her headscarf was fitting. She posted a video of her meeting with the court judge on Instagram and claimed that he informed her she could leave her country at any time if she decided to live a different life.
“This country belongs to everyone,” Heshmati stated. “Let the law do its job; we will continue our resistance.”
She also said she took off her headscarf after leaving court.
Mizan News Agency, affiliated with Iran’s judiciary system, stated that Heshmati participated in “behaviors outside the norm.”
It also stated it was reported that the woman was “present in a very inappropriate condition on the streets of Tehran.”
The phrase “inappropriate condition” likely refers to a photo of her strolling through Tehran’s streets Tehran with no head scarf in a t-shirt with short sleeves and an oversized skirt.
After the widespread reaction to the news, described in the press as “violence and brutality by the authorities of the Islamic Republic,” Different figures voiced their displeasure, such as politician and artist Zahra Rakhnavard. She and her husband, former Premier Vice-Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, have been in house detention for several years since 2010.
Rahnavard spoke to the officials and said, “You lash Roya Heshmati, but she laughs at you with her awakened conscience and resilience. I am disgusted with your governance.”
To the growing responses to her story, Roya Heshmati has shared a recent brand post on Instagram and expressed her gratitude for the outpouring of support. She stated that she had yet to learn her story would garner such the attention it has received.
Hashemi said she posted the news privately on her website and stressed that she’s not a “public figure” and has no intention of changing her position.
Ultimately The Hijab , she decided to “voluntarily” deactivate her Facebook and Instagram accounts to stay clear of any controversy.
