Iran: Criticism Over the Flogging of Female Activist on Mother's Day for Not Wearing Hijab

Women share an umbrella as they stand at Enghelab Square in Iran's capital, Tehran (File photo: AFP)
Women share an umbrella as they stand at Enghelab Square in Iran's capital, Tehran (File photo: AFP)
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Iran: Criticism Over the Flogging of Female Activist on Mother's Day for Not Wearing Hijab

Women share an umbrella as they stand at Enghelab Square in Iran's capital, Tehran (File photo: AFP)
Women share an umbrella as they stand at Enghelab Square in Iran's capital, Tehran (File photo: AFP)

Iran has witnessed significant outrage following the authorities' decision to flog a female activist for not wearing the hijab on Mother's Day, according to human rights activists.

The Iranian judiciary sentenced Kurdish activist Roya Heshmati to 74 lashes.

The Mizan agency, affiliated with the judicial authority, stated that the law carried out these actions.

Iranians expressed their anger, notably as it coincided with Mother's Day in Iran, which fell on January 4th.

Al-Shargh newspaper reported that Heshmati was arrested last April after posting a picture of herself without headcover, which is mandatory for women in Iran, as reported by the German news agency.

She was arrested in April "for publishing a photo on social media without wearing a headscarf," her lawyer, Maziar Tatai, told the Shargh Daily.

He indicated that the appeal against a 13-year prison sentence was successful. However, the flogging punishment for moral offenses remained in place.

Later, images circulated online showing signs of torture on a veiled woman's body. But Heshmati wrote on her now-closed Facebook account that the alleged pictures were not of her. She asserted that the whip lashes were weak enough to cause these wounds.

Heshmati announced her verdict in October of last year.

Tatai stated that the court sentenced her to 13 years and nine months in prison, in addition to a fine and 148 lashes, but the appellate court upheld the fine and imposed 74 lashes.

Heshmati described the room where the sentence was carried out as resembling a fully equipped medieval torture chamber.

Some female politicians, including prominent female dissident Zahra Rahnavard, objected to the lashing of the young woman for hijab.

"You who rule! You whip Roya Heshmati's body, but she, the one with an alert and resilient conscience, laughs bitterly at you. I abhor your manner of governance," Rahnavard, who has been under house arrest since 2011 along with her husband Mir-Hossein Mousavi, said in a message.

Azar Mansoori, who leads the Reformist Front and the People's Unity Party of Islamic Iran, objected to the sentence.

Mansoori stated that one could not be a Muslim and stay silent about Heshmati's flogging for hijab.

Iranian sociologist Mohammad Fazli wrote on the X platform that the law is meant to preserve human dignity so they can live in peace and tranquility, not to break hearts with news of the flogging of a fellow citizen on Mother's Day.

Iran witnessed massive protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman after morality police arrested her.

Her death last year sparked the most significant protests in Iran in decades, which were brutally suppressed by the authorities.

Since then, an increasing number of Iranian women have been seen in public places without wearing the hijab or adhering to rules.



Iran’s Khamenei Criticizes US Proposal in Nuclear Talks but Doesn’t Reject the Idea of a Deal 

Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
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Iran’s Khamenei Criticizes US Proposal in Nuclear Talks but Doesn’t Reject the Idea of a Deal 

Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)
Iranians drive past a wall painting of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R) and late Iranian supreme leader Khomeini (L) on a street in Tehran, Iran, 01 June 2025. (EPA)

Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday criticized an initial proposal from the United States in negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, though he stopped short of entirely rejecting the idea of agreement with Washington. 

The remarks by Ali Khamenei colored in the red line expressed over recent days — one that says Tehran refuses to give up enriching uranium in any possible deal with the US. 

That demand has been repeatedly made by American officials, including President Donald Trump, though it remains unclear just how much US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff brought it up in his initial proposal to Iran. 

But what Khamenei did not say in his speech matters as well. He didn't reject the talks, which Iran views as crucial for its economy to lift some the crushing economic sanctions it faces. 

Khamenei also did not insist on any specific level of nuclear enrichment. Iran now enriches uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels. 

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has led the talks with Witkoff, said Tehran soon will offer its response to the US Khamenei's speech Wednesday at the mausoleum of Khomeini may serve as a preview. 

“If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us,” Khamenei said. “If we do not have enrichment, then we should extend our hand (begging) to the US.” 

Khamenei touched on previous remarks The 86-year-old Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran, often balances his remarks over the demands of reformists within the country who want the talks against hard-line elements within Iran’s theocracy, including the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. 

Late in August, Khamenei in a speech opened the door to possible talks with the US, saying there is “no harm” in engaging with the “enemy.” The supreme leader later tempered that, saying that negotiations with America “are not intelligent, wise or honorable,” after Trump floated nuclear talks with Tehran. 

Khamenei's speech on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of Khomeini's death, offered an opportunity to discuss Witkoff's proposal. He described it as “100% against the idea of ‘we can,’” borrowing from an Iranian government slogan. He described the US as having long sought the dismantling of Iran’s entire nuclear industry. 

“The impolite and insolent American leaders keep repeating this demand with different wordings," Khamenei said. 

He added, using a slogan he's said before: “Those currently in power, Zionist or American, should be aware that they can’t do a damn thing about this." 

Some nuclear power nations do get uranium from outside suppliers, however. Experts long have viewed Iran as using its nuclear program as a chip in negotiations with the West to get sanctions relief. 

The details of the American proposal remain unclear after five rounds of talks between Iran and the US. 

A report by the news website Axios on the American proposal, the details of which a US official separately confirmed, include a possible nuclear consortium that would enrich uranium for Iran and surrounding nations.  

Whether Iran would have to entirely give up its enrichment program remains unclear, as Axios reported that Iran would be able to enrich uranium up to 3% purity for some time. 

A failure to get a deal could see tensions further spike in a Middle East already on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. 

Iran's long-ailing economy could enter a free fall that could worsen the simmering unrest at home. Israel or the US might carry out long-threatened airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. And Tehran may decide to fully end its cooperation with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and rush toward a bomb.