KARACHI:
The case of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian girl, has been under media spotlight these days. Amini was taken in custody by Iran’s morality police for violating the religious dress code and allegedly tortured which later caused her death in the hospital on September 16. The death triggered street protests in Tehran, the Iranian capital, which spilled over to at least 40 cities of the country.
The observance of hijab by women keeps coming under debate in the media from time to time. At least three notable incidents happening in different countries have grabbed media attention over the last couple of years. First, it was the imposition of ban on veil in France which drew huge condemnation across the world. France is said to have done it to bolster the country’s secular system. Then, a couple of months back, a shocking incident happened in the Indian state of Karnataka where students wearing hijab were denied entry into a college purportedly because it violated the dress code of the college. The incident evoked a massive reaction from Muslim countries. And the latest such incident, involving Amini’s death in Iran, has already claimed 50 lives, while the protests continue. The Western media is raising pretty valid questions on how women are being denied the right to dress up in Iran ever since the issue took place. When we insist that wearing hijab is the right of women, wearing it not should also be accepted as their right.
International laws protect the right to live without suppression as well as the right to carry out religious activities. Any form of strict rules in any country causes an abyss of gloom and disrupts the mental being of citizens. We should allow our women to take a breath of fresh air, as any violent treatment against non-compliance with fluff acts in this modern world would take us to the darkness. International institutions should also make tangible deliberations to push back uncomfortable regulations of any country which tend to cause civil strife within the state.
Abdul Najeeb
Larkana
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2022.
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