Iran has announced plans to open a “treatment clinic” aimed at women who resist the country’s mandatory hijab laws.
The new facility, described by authorities as a center for “scientific and psychological treatment for hijab removal,” was introduced by Mehri Talebi Darestani, head of the Women and Family Department of Tehran’s Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The proposal has been met with alarm by activists and human rights organizations, who view it as a troubling new step in the crackdown on women’s freedoms. Recently, Iranian media reported on the case of a university student who was detained after reportedly stripping to her underwear in protest, following alleged harassment by campus security for violating hijab regulations. The student was subsequently transferred to a psychiatric facility, an action that has heightened concerns over the government’s approach.
Rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have documented instances of forced medication, violence, and abuse within Iran’s state psychiatric system, which authorities use to label dissenters and protesters as mentally unwell. Human rights advocates worry that the planned clinic will further normalize such practices.
