Activists: Iranian Police Shot Woman During Car Seizure Over Hijab Law

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A 31-year-old mother of two, Arezou Badri, was shot by Iranian police on a road near the Caspian Sea last month, an incident now raising alarms regarding the country’s renewed crackdown on hijab enforcement.

Activists report that Badri attempted to flee after police ordered her to stop, likely due to a prior violation of Iran’s headscarf law, which mandates women to wear a hijab in public. Her shooting comes nearly two years after the high-profile death of Mahsa Amini, who died while in police custody for an alleged hijab infraction, an event that ignited widespread protests advocating for women’s rights and challenging Iran’s theocratic regime.

As September 16 approaches — the anniversary of Amini’s death — Iran’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to soften the enforcement of hijab mandates. However, recent incidents, including Badri’s shooting and video evidence of police brutality towards young women, reflect ongoing dangers for those who defy these laws.

“They have elevated it to the most serious crime, where the police are allowed basically to shoot to kill,” stated Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran based in New York. “That’s really a war on women.”

The incident involving Badri took place around 11 p.m. on July 22 as she was returning home with her sister. Reports from Human Rights Activists in Iran indicate that police fired at her car’s tires initially. When she continued to drive, the officers shot into the vehicle, resulting in a gunshot wound that damaged her lung and spine.

Iranian law stipulates that police should first fire a warning shot, aiming below the waist before potentially lethal shots. The exact reasons for the police stop remain unclear, but activists suggest it stemmed from the prior hijab violation, which led to the order to impound her vehicle. There are also questions regarding whether any police officer had body cameras at the scene, as footage remains absent.

There are no official statistics on police shootings available in Iran, which raises concerns about transparency in law enforcement practices. Police training varies greatly, with some officers engaged in more paramilitary operations, particularly in volatile regions like Sistan and Baluchestan.

The Interior Ministry, which oversees police activities, has not responded to inquiries about Badri’s shooting. Currently, Badri is held in a police hospital in Tehran, where her family faces strict restrictions on visitation and the media’s access to her situation is tightly controlled. Despite this, her case garnered attention when the BBC published an image of her condition.

Activists report that Badri is paralyzed from the waist down, with medical professionals indicating that complete paralysis will be determined in the coming months. This shocking incident aligns with a broader context of state violence following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, which resulted from her detention for not adhering to hijab regulations. A U.N. panel concluded that Amini died due to “physical violence” inflicted by the state.

Amini’s death triggered widespread protests and a harsh crackdown that saw over 500 individuals killed and around 22,000 detained. Following these events, enforcement of hijab laws was temporarily relaxed but has intensified again under the Noor Plan, which has drawn significant attention within Iran.

Conversations about hijab enforcement continue to be prevalent, even though state media and police often omit details about these incidents. Many women are seen wearing their hijabs loosely or letting them fall from their heads while in public spaces, particularly in Tehran. Reports suggest that women driving without hijabs are identified through surveillance technology supplied by Chinese firms, which cross-reference their images with a government-maintained database.

If stopped, these women face the risk of aggressive confrontations with law enforcement officials, as evidenced by recently published footage depicting a teenage girl being assaulted by police in Tehran. Her mother recounted how her daughter suffered significant physical injuries during the altercation, describing the traumatic encounter as horrifying.

“I saw my daughter with a wounded face, swollen lips, a bruised neck, torn clothes, and she couldn’t even speak,” said her mother. “Her eyes were so swollen from crying that they wouldn’t open.”

This recent escalation of violence against women in Iran highlights a continued struggle against stringent dress codes and a government crackdown that has far-reaching implications for personal freedoms and rights.

Source: Associated Press