Iran reformist party urges an end to mandatory veil laws amid Mahsa Amini protests

Iran’s most prominent reformist party urged Tehran to overturn obligatory headscarf laws on Saturday in the wake of the ongoing Mahsa Amini protests that rocked the country.

Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian, died on 16 September following her arrest in Tehran three days prior by the country’s Morality Police, who apprehended her for not wearing the hijab "correctly".

The Islamic People's Union of Iran, formed by close associates of former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, said that it "demands" that authorities "prepare necessary legal elements that will pave the way for the abolition of compulsory hijab laws," according to a statement issued on Saturday, as reported by AFP.

Conflict of the brave people of Iran vs. Iran's cruel regime officers#MahsaAmini #OpIran #مهسا_امینی #مهساامینی #iran pic.twitter.com/fktisZMWRt

— Oveys (@oveys0050) September 25, 2022

In their statement, the party said that it also demands that the Islamic Republic declare "the official end to the activities of the Guidance Police" and for them to permit peaceful demonstrations against Amini’s death.

The Islamic People’s Union of Iran also called for an impartial probe into the young women’s death, as well as the release of all those arrested throughout the demonstrations.

According to state media, 35 people have been killed as of 24 September in the protests that have swept the capital Tehran, as well as other cities, such as Ahvaz and Tabriz.

On 13 September, Amini was taken to a police station following her arrest at a Tehran metro station by the Morality Police in order to be "educated" on morality law. She died three days later after being admitted to hospital, as she fell into a coma.

The Morality Police continue to claim that she died due to "natural causes", but activists and her family, maintain that Amini died due to a blow to her head that lead to her falling into a coma.

According to the Islamic Republic’s laws, women - irrespective of their faith or nationality - must cover their hair with a headscarf in public, as well as sport loose-fitting clothes.

The mandatory headscarf law has been in effect since 1983, four years after the country’s revolution in 1979 which saw the removal of Shah Mohammad Pahlavi from power.

Women across the country, as well as overseas, have been protesting Amini’s death by taking off headscarves, cutting their hair and burning the Iranian flag in videos and images shared on social media.