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Summary
The Iranian government opened a mental health clinic to “treat” women who defy compulsory hijab laws.
The Iranian government has announced plans to open a treatment clinic for women who defy mandatory hijab laws. The policy requires women to cover their heads in public, escalating tensions over the country’s strict dress code laws.
The announcement comes shortly after the arrest of Ahoo Daryaei, a young woman detained for protesting hijab enforcement by stripping to her underwear after being assaulted by campus security guards for breaching the hijab law in Tehran.
Mehri Talebi Darestani, the head of the Women and Family Department of the Tehran Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, announced this on Nov. 12. She said the clinic will offer “scientific and psychological treatment for hijab removal specifically for the teenage generation, young adults, and women seeking social and Islamic identity.”
According to Hamshahri online, Zahra Behrouz-Azer, Iran’s Vice President of Women and Family Affairs, clarified that the government did not authorise or approve the formation of a “hijab clinic,” asserting that the hijab issue should be addressed through family education rather than government intervention.
Behrouz-Azer suggested that the General Culture Council, not the government, should handle such issues on a broader level. He also emphasised that the government is committed to women’s security, urging parliament to expedite related legislation. Additionally, he called for a societal focus on life skills, resilience, and effective communication within families to prevent tragic events.
Iraq’s new policy has ignited a wave of outrage. Iranian Journalist and activist Masih Alinejad took to X to condemn the initiative:
“In the 21st century, the Islamic Republic is opening a so-called ‘hijab clinic’ in Tehran, where women who bravely defy the regime’s oppressive dress code are to be treated as mentally ill. This isn’t healthcare, it’s yet another tactic of gender apartheid. The regime wants to gaslight women into thinking their desire for freedom is a psychological disorder. This is how they crush dissent: by treating courage as madness,” she said.
Masih denounced the clinic as a “shameful act,” asserting that framing the desire for freedom as a psychological disorder amounts to gender apartheid.
“To the Islamic Republic: no clinic, no force, no label will break the spirit of Iranian women. You are the ones sick with the disease of tyranny,” she declared.
Meanwhile, public debate has intensified about Ahoo Daryaei’s detainment, though officials have yet to release updates on her situation. Beyond Iran, women’s rights and autonomy have increasingly been under increasing attack around the world, with Switzerland forbidding women from wearing a Burqa publicly and Afghanistan banning women from speaking to one another, amongst other restrictions.
