Iranian authorities to Impose More Stringent Hijab Laws

A collective picture of the victims of the Iranian regime (Iran International
A collective picture of the victims of the Iranian regime (Iran International
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Iranian authorities to Impose More Stringent Hijab Laws

A collective picture of the victims of the Iranian regime (Iran International
A collective picture of the victims of the Iranian regime (Iran International

Iranian authorities intend to enforce the requirement for women to wear the veil more strictly through video surveillance, according to Iranian media.

Iran's Etemad newspaper said on Friday that the parliamentary justice committee wants to expand the scope of monitoring already used in road traffic to include public places.

Women will be warned at first, via a text message, in the event of violations, and in the event of a repeat violation, the violations will be punished by imposing a fine on them.

At the beginning of January, Etemad had already published a report on reforms to penalize violations of the Islamic dress code more stringently.

At the time, there was talk of community service assignments, re-education courses, bans on leaving the country, employment restrictions and fines.

For months now, the notorious morality police, who used to patrol the headscarf law, have almost completely disappeared from the streets.

Many women in Iran's big cities no longer wear the veil. Critics in Iran complain about the lack of social support for the new tightening of laws.

For more than four months, Iranians have been demonstrating against oppressive policies.

A wave of protests had erupted due to the death of the Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody after the morality police had arrested her for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code.

In other news, Reuters reported that social media images purported to be of an emaciated jailed Iranian dissident on hunger strike have caused outrage online as supporters warned on Friday he risks death for protesting the compulsory wearing of the hijab.

Farhad Meysami, 53, who has been in jail since 2018 for supporting women activists protesting against Iran's headscarf policy, began his hunger strike on Oct. 7 to protest recent government killings of demonstrators, the dissident's lawyer said.



Sharaa Tours More Syrian Cities ahead of National Conference

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
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Sharaa Tours More Syrian Cities ahead of National Conference

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus on Sunday as part of a tour of the country that he kicked off on Saturday in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

The tour is taking place weeks ahead of a national conference scheduled in Homs in central Syria.

Sharaa was warmly welcomed by crowds that gathered in Latakia city center near the Jules Jammal school, which holds historic and national significance.

The school was established in the early 1920s and it helped shape national awareness in the country. It was the launch point for student protests and an arena for electoral tensions between the Baath party, Muslim Brotherhood and Syrian nationalists.

It was shut during the rule of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, leaving it in neglect despite its significance to the people.

Sharaa deliberately chose to greet the people near the school to underscore Latakia’s national role that was usurped by the Assad regime.

In Aleppo on Saturday, Sharaa attended an open dialogue discussion with several social and economic figures from the city and its countryside.

He listened to their proposals and demands, with sources saying that the talks focused on the state of affairs in Syria and efforts to revive it after the war and regime ouster.

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Latakia. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)

Sharaa stressed Aleppo’s economic significance and role in the industry sector.

He underlined his confidence that Syria will rise again thanks to its people, telling the crowd that the interim government is focusing on setting plans for 2025 and 2026.

The sources said Sharaa sought to assure the people, emphasizing that “everyone was under the law” and that Syria is not a sectarian state.

He urged them to trust him in tackling the issues at hand, reiterating that he was walking the “very fine line between transitional justice and civil peace.”

Sharaa also visited Afrin city in Aleppo which is predominantly Kurdish.

He assured that Syrian Kurds were part of the Syrian population.

He visited refugee camps in the northwest, stressing that returning the displaced home was a government priority.

Sharaa’s tour is taking place amid preparations for the national conference in Homs. Consultations have already gotten underway for the meeting.