Iranian Woman Lashed 74 Times for Daring to Reject the Hijab

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The Islamic Republic started the year 2024 with more repression against Iranian women after a woman was sentenced to 74 lashes for refusing to follow the regime’s strict Islamic dress code, while another was handed a two-year prison sentence for refusing to wear the hijab. 

In accordance with a court’s orders in the Iranian capital, Tehran, Iranian authorities executed the sentence of 74 lashes against Roya Heshmati, a vocal critic of the Islamic Republic’s mandatory hijab laws, on January 3rd after she was convicted for refusing to adhere to the country’s compulsory hijab laws. 

Heshmati shared her distressing account of her experience while authorities executed her sentence. She recalled that on the day of her punishment, her lawyer accompanied her and arrived at the law enforcement unit to receive her sentence.

She then stressed that she removed her hijab upon entering the courthouse, and when officials demanded her to cover up, Heshmati defiantly asserted, "I have come to receive my lashes; I won't cover up."

The enforcement officer threatened Heshmati that he would intensify the lashes and open a new case against her for not complying with the compulsory hijab if she did not cover herself. Heshmati provided a vivid description of the whipping room, where she wrote, “They opened the iron door. The room had cement walls. There was a small bed in the corner with iron shackles on both sides... A medieval torture chamber."

In another case, Zeynab (Bahar) Khonyabpour, another vocal critic of the regime’s compulsory hijab laws and a resident of Behbahan in the western province of Ahvaz, was given a two-year prison sentence for posting photos of herself not wearing the hijab on social media. Sajjad Chatrsefid, her lawyer, confirmed that the Behbahan Criminal Court sentenced her.

Meanwhile, Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi, known for his controversial works in Iran, was arrested and sentenced to two years and eight months in prison along with 74 lashes after he released a song critical of the Islamic Republic that urges women to disavow the regime’s mandatory hijab laws.

Zahra Minuei, the singer’s lawyer, posted on X that the 26th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Yarrahi for "challenging the public mind and propaganda against the regime" after he released his single Roosarito (Your Head Scarf).

"Mr. Yarrahi is currently free with a bail of 15 billion tomans, which was deposited by Mr. Kushan Haddad, one of his colleagues," Zahra added.

Roosarito (Your Head Scarf) urges Iranian women to "lose your scarf, laugh and be happy and protest against crying tears" and oppose the regime’s mandatory hijab laws. It was released as the regime vigorously cracked down on dissent ahead of the first death anniversary of Mahsa Amini in September 2023.

Yarrahi was arrested in August last year and remained in detention until October, when he was released on bail. Because the court sentenced him on multiple charges and the sentences run concurrently, the singer will serve one year in prison.

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