Iranian girls who removed their headscarves at skateboard event are ARRESTED in crackdown that has sparked outrage
- Iran arrests teenage girls for not wearing headscarves at a skateboarding day
- The event, held in southern city of Shiraz, saw boys and girls mixing freely
- Five organisers also detained by Iranian authorities for violating religious norms
- A march for ‘Supporters of the sanctity of modesty, zeal and hijab’ to be held
Iranian police have arrested several teenage girls for not wearing headscarves at a skateboarding day along with some of the event’s organisers in the southern city of Shiraz, state media reported Friday.
A number of girls ‘removed their hijab at the end of the sports event without observing the religious considerations and legal norms’, state news agency IRNA quoted Shiraz police chief Faraj Shojaee as saying.
Five people accused of organising the event – where dozens of teenagers also mixed freely contravening strict Islamic guidelines – have been detained.
‘With the coordination of the judiciary, a number of perpetrators and people related to this gathering were identified and arrested on Thursday,’ Shojaee said.
A video purporting to show Tuesday’s ‘Go Skateboarding Day’ event on Chamran Boulevard in Shiraz went viral in Iran on social media, prompting anger among conservative religious authorities in a country where the wearing of a Muslim hijab is mandatory for all women and teenage girls.
‘Holding any mixed sports or non-sports gathering without observing the religious and legal norms is prohibited… and the organisers will be dealt with according to the law,’ Shojaee added.
The ‘Go Skateboarding Day’ event in Shiraz, Iran, prompted outrage among conservative religious authorities due to teenagers mixing freely and teenage girls not wearing headscarves
A number of girls ‘removed their hijab at the end of the sports event without observing the religious considerations and legal norms’, state news agency IRNA quoted Shiraz police chief Faraj Shojaee as saying
Iranian police have arrested several teenage girls for not wearing headscarves at a skateboarding day along with some of the event’s organisers in the southern city of Shiraz
A video purporting to show Tuesday’s ‘Go Skateboarding Day’ event on Chamran Boulevard in Shiraz went viral in Iran on social media, prompting anger among conservative religious authorities in a country where the wearing of a Muslim hijab is mandatory for all women and teenage girls
Shiraz governor Lotfollah Sheybani said the event was ‘held with the intention of breaking social, religious and national rules and norms’, IRNA reported.
A march is due to take place in Shiraz on July 15 after Friday prayers entitled ‘Supporters of the sanctity of modesty, zeal and hijab’
Under Islamic law in force in Iran since its 1979 revolution, women must wear a hijab that covers the head and neck while concealing the hair.
Iranian clerics have long viewed such activities and events where these rules are ignored as part of a ‘soft war’ by the West against the Islamic Republic.
But many have pushed the boundaries over the past two decades by allowing their head coverings to slide back and reveal more hair, especially in Tehran and other major cities.
Iranian media on Sunday reported that police had arrested 120 people for alleged ‘criminal acts’ including drinking alcohol, mixed-sex dancing and uncovering the hijab at a party in the forest in the country’s north.
Under Iranian law, only non-Muslim citizens are permitted to consume alcohol for religious purposes, while dancing with the opposite sex is forbidden.
Source: Read Full Article
