Senior Iranian official first publicly criticizes regime’s hijab crackdown | World News

A senior Iranian official has questioned the state’s over-enforcement of the country’s mandatory hijab law – after Mahsa Amini died in custody.

Ali Larijani, 65, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a former parliament speaker, warned in an interview with Iranian daily Ettela’at of a “rigid response” to widespread protests after her death. response” “is not a cure””.

The 22 year old died in custody IranEthics police after being detained last month for allegedly breaking the country’s strict dress code.

Mr Larijani is the first senior politician to publicly call for a reconsideration of the government’s crackdown on women and girls who do not follow Islamic dress codes.

In a marked departure from the uncompromising line shown by the regime, he said in the interview: “The hijab has a cultural solution, it doesn’t require a decree and a referendum.

“I thank the police force and Basij for their service [parliamentary militia]but the burden of encouraging hijabs should not be shared with them.

“Don’t doubt that when a cultural phenomenon becomes common, there is no cure for a stereotyped reaction to it.

“The people and young people on the street are our own children. In a family, if a child commits a crime, then they try to guide him on the right track, and society needs more tolerance.”

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He noted that during the last Shah’s rule before the Iranian revolution in 1979, the state discouraged the wearing of the hijab, but many women did so voluntarily.

Mr Larijani continued: “Islamic government means that people manage their own affairs. The same is true when it comes to social justice. If affairs are run by the people, their talents flourish.”

He added: “The problem is that it is not 100% wrong if there is a society in which young people do not implement one of the Sharia laws correctly from an intellectual and social point of view.”

Iranian Kurdish Ms Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 13 for wearing “inappropriate attire” and died three days later.

The Iranian government insists she was not abused, but her family say her body was exposed Bruises and other signs of assault.

Her death caused young women to cut their hair, rip off and wave headscarves recklessly, sparking protests that quickly spread across the country – and Other cities around the world, including London.

Protests calling for the overthrow of the Iranian regime have been severely suppressed by the government, including beatings, arrests and killings of demonstrators.

Human rights groups say at least 201 people have been killed in Iran, hundreds injured and thousands arrested by security forces.

At least 20 members of the security forces were reportedly killed.

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