Weeks after a university student stripped on campus in Iran for refusing to wear the hijab, causing a stir in the Islamic Republic.
According to various media reports Iran is working towards introducing a special mental health clinic for women who resist wearing the hijab and are not following the dress code enforced by the government.
The centre will be called the Clinic for Quitting Hijab Removal is the latest attempt to quash female dissent in the country. This attempt comes after the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini.
The Hijab Rehab Centre is poised to be run by a government official named Mehri Talebi Darestani. As per a report by Telegraph UK, Talebi has said that this clinic will focus on "the scientific and psychological treatment of removing the hijab, specifically for the teenage generation, young adults, and women seeking social and Islamic identity."
This project of opening a rehab clinic will also focus on "promoting dignity, modesty, chastity and hijab," Talebi was quoted as saying.
Iran Wire and Iran International have also reported on the plans to establish this "hijab clinic" for women who defy the hijab law.
Talebi, who is the head of the organisation’s Women’s and Family Department, added that the “clinic will formalize and expand its existing services that have been operating on a volunteer basis."
Talebi, who was previously the head of the Ministry of Labour Inspection Centre has openly supported and promoted child marriage in the past on state television.
The plans of the hijab clinic come after a viral incident at the Islamic Azad University, where a 30-year-old student stripped in protest after security staff intervened over her hijab.
The student, who has been identified as Ahoo Daryaei, was arrested and later transferred to a "psychological centre" and declared "mentally ill" by authorities and university administration.
This clinic will be overseen by Iran's Headquarters for Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Evil.
The department, led by Mohammed Saleh Hashemi Golpayegani, who was directly appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, currently faces sanctions from the UK and other countries for abusing human rights, especially against women.
Iran's crackdown on women has been labelled as a "gender apartheid" by the United Nations.
Anti-Hijab Movement in Iran
While women continued to fight against the mandatory hijab law, the anti-hijab movement gained massive momentum in the country after the death of Mahsa Amini.
Amini died in the custody of the morality police. The 22-year-old had been arrested for not wearing her hijab "properly".
In the wake of her death, thousands of Iranian women marched to the streets to protest against their suppression and the mandatory hijab law. Many were imprisoned and sanctioned by the government and continue to face consequences to date.
Many women, including celebrities such as Afsaneh Bayegan, Azadeh Samadi, and Leila Bolukat were forced to present mental health certificates and were court-ordered to have weekly visits to psychiatric centres.
