In response to the approval of the bill known as the Hijab and Chastity Law by the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament), more than 140 journalists have issued a statement calling this law a “widespread violation of the fundamental rights of citizens.”
In the latest reaction to the parliament’s approval of a three-year experimental implementation of the Hijab and Chastity bill, Iranian journalists wrote in a statement: “We warn that the implementation of the parliament’s resolution known as the Hijab Law will lead to widespread violations of the fundamental rights of citizens, including social rights, privacy, and basic freedoms.”
The signing journalists declared in another section of this statement: “This law directly threatens journalists with censorship and criminalization regarding discussions related to hijab, which itself contradicts Article 24 of the Constitution.” In the final section of this statement, which has been signed by more than 140 Iranian journalists, the signatories, alongside expressing their objections to the violation of the rights of children, women, and other citizens in this law, emphasized that the implementation of this law “will result in nothing but an increase in social crises.”
In addition to various provisions of the Chastity and Hijab Law that clearly violate citizens’ rights, Article 41 of this law directly addresses the press, journalists, and media activists, creating significant restrictions against media professionals.
This clause could lead to the exclusion of a large number of female journalists from the media. At the same time, this legal article contradicts the principle of presumption of innocence. The Hijab and Chastity Law, due to its ambiguous language and, in some cases, non-legal nature, can easily become a tool for the security and judicial institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran to disrupt free information flow in Iran and restrict freedom of expression.