Iran announces 'psychological treatment' for women defying hijab laws

Iran has announced opening a clinic for treating women who refuse to obey the mandatory law of wearing scarves that require women to cover their heads in public. 

Iran’s first counselling clinic aims to promote mandatory hijab laws and will provide “scientific and psychological treatment to those who support hijab removal,” said Mehri Talebi Darestani, who will oversee the clinic.

Darestani's office is part of Iran's headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention, an institution responsible for defining and enforcing strict religious standards in society, particularly related to women's dress.

The clinic will respond to women and families who do not comply with hijab laws by implementing a roadmap to promote "dignity, modesty, chastity, and hijab."

A week ago, a woman in Iran was arrested for removing her clothes publicly at a university in protest of being allegedly harassed by security guards for not wearing a proper headscarf. The university administration declared the female student mentally unstable. 

A video circulating on social media showed a scantily dressed woman outside the Islamic Azad University walking while speaking to her fellow students with her hair uncovered. 

Iranian law demands, that all women, whether they are Muslim or not, wear headscarves in public, and the government has ramped up enforcement of such laws since 2022. 

However, several women defied authorities by discarding their veils after nationwide protests followed the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of morality police in September 2022.

Human rights groups say more than 500 people were killed in those demonstrations, and according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, over 20,000 people were arrested.