Iran’s government has announced plans to open a controversial new facility aimed at ‘treating’ women who defy the country’s compulsory hijab mandate. This move has sparked outrage among human rights activists and women across the country, who see it as a further escalation in the regime’s crackdown on women’s freedoms.
The clinic, which is positioned as a “treatment center,” will reportedly offer psychological and scientific counseling to women who choose to remove their hijabs or fail to comply with the law.
Government’s Announcement of the ‘Hijab Removal Treatment Clinic’
The announcement came from Mehri Talebi Darestani, head of the Women and Family Department at Tehran’s Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Talebi revealed plans for a new facility that would provide “scientific and psychological treatment” to women who remove their hijabs or choose not to wear one in public.
While the Iranian authorities have framed the facility as a voluntary space for women, Talebi emphasized that it would specifically target young women, teenagers, and those struggling with their “social and Islamic identity.” According to the regime, the center would serve as a way to address issues of “psychological treatment for hijab removal.”
The facility will be presented as an alternative for women, especially young adults, to “reconnect” with Islamic dress codes and social norms, Talebi stated. However, the language of the announcement and its broader context have raised concerns that this initiative could be more of a coercive tool than a voluntary treatment option.
Controversy and Public Backlash
The news has been met with widespread condemnation. Critics argue that the facility will serve as a prison-like institution, where women are subjected to forced psychological interventions in a bid to enforce the government’s strict dress code.
“It won’t be a clinic, it will be a prison,” one Iranian woman told The Guardian. “We are struggling to make ends meet and have power outages, but a piece of cloth is what this state is worried about.” She urged fellow women to return to the streets in protest, warning that failure to act now could lead to widespread detention.
This announcement follows the case of a university student who was arrested for removing her clothing on campus in a protest against harassment from the morality police, who had previously targeted her for violating the hijab law.
After the incident, the student was reportedly transferred to a psychiatric hospital, reinforcing fears that the regime is increasingly pathologizing women’s resistance to the hijab mandate.
The new clinic is a direct extension of the Tehran Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, an institution responsible for overseeing Iran’s adherence to Islamic law and enforcing public morality, particularly in relation to women’s dress.
The group operates under the authority of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and plays a pivotal role in regulating and enforcing the hijab mandate.
This initiative comes at a time of heightened unrest in Iran, particularly after the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests erupted in late 2022. These protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police, have become a symbol of defiance against the state’s oppressive policies.
Women, in particular, have been at the forefront of the protests, demanding the right to control their own bodies and reject the forced hijab law.
