Ahead Of A Year Of Mahsa Amini's Death, Iran Prepares A New And More Strict Hijab Bill: After Last Year's Protests?

Mass protests rocked Iran last year. (Wikimedia Commons/Ideophagous)

JAKARTA - Iranian authorities are considering a new stricter hijab bill, with experts saying it provides for unprecedented harsh punishments, just weeks to a year ahead of Masha Amini's death that sparked mass protests.

The draft law, made up of 70 articles, lays out a series of proposals, including longer prison terms for women who refuse to wear the headscarf, tougher new penalties for celebrities and businesses who break the rules, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify women who breaking the dress code.

Experts say the bill, which has yet to be passed, is a warning to Iranians that the government will not back down from its stance on the hijab despite mass demonstrations rocking the country last year.

The bill was submitted by the judiciary to the government for consideration earlier this year, then passed to parliament and subsequently approved by the Law and Judiciary Commission. It will be submitted to the Board of Governors this Sunday before being introduced in parliament.

Iran's own parliament will work on finalizing the text and voting on the bill "within the next two months," state news agency Mehr reported.

Iran's moral police. (Wikimedia Commons/Fars Media Corporation/Satyar Emami)

"This is a clear response to the protests from last September in September," Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House think-tank in London, told CNN, adding it was part of an effort to "reassert the authority of over the hijab and the requirements expected of women."

Iran was rocked by mass protests last year, after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in September after being detained by the morality police and taken to a "re-education center", allegedly for not adhering to the country's strict dress code.

While not officially disbanded, most of the morality police stepped down after last year's protests, which have gradually died down.

But earlier this month, police spokesman General Saeed Montazerolmahdi said the morality police would again appeal and then detain women caught without headscarves in public.

The new bill would reclassify failure to wear the headscarf as a more serious offence, punishable by a prison term of five to 10 years as well as a higher fine of up to 360 million Iranian rials ($8,508).

The fine is far in excess of what the average Iranian can pay, as millions of people are below the poverty line, Hossein Raeesi, an Iranian human rights lawyer and assistant professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, told CNN.

Another section of the bill states that in order to enforce the new law, the Iranian police must "create and strengthen an AI system to identify perpetrators of illegal behavior using tools such as fixed cameras and moving cameras."

Protest against the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran. (Wikimedia Commons/Darafsh)

Earlier this year, state media reported that surveillance cameras would be installed in public places to identify women who violate the country's hijab laws.

In addition, under the new law, business owners who do not enforce hijab requirements will face larger fines, potentially as much as three months of their business profits, and face a ban on leaving the country or participating in public or cyber activities for up to two years.

The bill also targets celebrities, who may face fines of up to one-tenth of their fortune, removal from work or professional activity for a specified period of time, as well as bans on international travel and social media activity.

The draft law would also mandate greater gender segregation in universities and other public spaces.

Several steps in the bill have been unlawfully carried out by Iran's security forces, Raeesi said, including the recent closing of an insurance company in Tehran, after photos of naked female employees circulated on social media. With this bill, the government will "legalize illegal behavior" by the troops, said Raeesi.

Experts believe the law, or parts of it, are likely to be passed in some form, although Raeesi said there is a possibility the government could withdraw the bill if it manages any potential unrest around the anniversary of Masha Amini's death.

If the bill is passed by parliament, it must also be approved by the regime's guardian council, Raeesi said, referring to the 12-member Guardian Council, ensuring laws passed are in line with Islamic values ​​and Iran's constitution. Any bill passed by parliament must be reviewed and approved by the council to become law.

Meanwhile, experts say the bill sends a clear message to the Iranian people.

"This system tries to make it clear that leniency will not be tolerated. There is a clear and phased punishment system for individuals who violate the dress code in the country," concluded Vakil.