Hijabs Off, Handcuffs On? Iranian Women Shock By Subverting Holy Procession

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A group of young women in the city of Karaj in the northwestern province of Alborz were “identified and summoned” by Iranian authorities after they participated in an Ashura procession without hijabs.

Videos posted on social media platforms such as Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) show several young women, most wearing dark clothing but without hijabs or other headscarves, walking in the streets in observance of Ashura. The videos of the Ashura procession in Karaj on July 16th have been met with widespread reactions on social media and led to swift action from Iranian authorities.

Hamid Hadavand, the chief of police in Alborz Province, announced on July 17th that authorities have identified and summoned the individuals involved in the incident, claiming the publication of the videos and others like it had hurt the feelings of Hussein’s mourners throughout Iran, referring to the grandson of Prophet Muhammad and third Shia imam whose death is commemorated among Shia Muslims during Ashura.

“Given the release of a video on social media about the presence of several girls without hijab in the Ashura day mourning and the harming of the feelings of Hosseini mourners throughout the country, pursuing the issue was placed on the agenda of the police officers of the province," Hadavand said, according to ISNA state news agency.

He also accused the individuals seen in the videos of "desecration," adding that all of them "have been summoned to the Alborz Province police after being identified." In addition, the police chief emphasized that they "do not condone the violation of the sacred space of the imams and will deal with the violators according to the law."

Hadavand did not say how many individuals were summoned or how the authorities identified them. The head of Iran’s Organization of Religious Boards and Organizations revoked the permission granted to the organization that held the Ashura procession in Karaj, with Majid Babakhani also announcing that its head had already been “summoned” with the help of police and said he would be dealt with legally.

The incident comes as law enforcement agencies have intensified the enforcement of the mandatory hijab law following the implementation of the Noor Plan last April, where several women had reportedly been arrested and harassed for perceived violations of the law across Iran.

Celebrated this year on July 16th and 17th by Shia Muslims, Ashura marks the martyrdom of Hussein Ibn Ali, who was killed along with most of his male relatives, during the Battle of Karbala, where he and his men fought against the Umayyad army under Yazid I. 

Shia Muslims mourn Hussein’s death by striking their chests to share in his pain. Many participants also wear black clothing (including hijabs for women) during Ashura processions, and some even beat their backs with chains in a symbolic expression of regret for not being able to help him before his death. 

Ashura is observed on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Reports of the identification and detention of women without compulsory hijabs across Iran also marked last year’s Muharram. 

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