Category: Hijab

Iran Officials Sentence 5 to Death for Killing Basij Troop

CAIRO—Iranian authorities sentenced five people to death for allegedly killing a member of a paramilitary force affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, state media said Tuesday. Eleven others received prison sentences. The 13 men and three minors had been charged with killing Ruhollah Ajamian, a member of the Basij, a paramilitary volunteer branch of Iran’s…


Iranian Climber Elnaz Rekabi, Who Competed Without Hijab, Receives Hero’s Welcome as She Returns to Tehran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi returned to Tehran early Wednesday after competing in South Korea without wearing a headscarf, an act widely seen as support for anti-regime demonstrators amid weeks of protests over the Islamic Republic’s mandatory hijab. After landing, Rekabi gave a careful, emotionless interview to Iran’s hard-line state television, saying that…


Canada to Sanction 25 Iran Officials and Morality Police After Mahsa Amini Death

Canada is sanctioning 25 senior Iranian officials and nine government entities following a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says in a statement posted to Twitter that the sanctions are a result of Iran’s “grave and ongoing breaches of international law” and its “blatant disregard for human life. Thousands…


‘Every One of Us Was a Mahsa’: Iranians in Canada Cut Hair at Women’s Rights Rallies

Azin Rezaeian kneels on the ground and screams “Say her name” each time she snips off a chunk of her long black hair. A crowd around her shouts back “Mahsa Amini,” the 22-year-old woman whose death in Iran has sparked protests like this one around the world. Rezaeian, who moved to Ottawa about a year…


Australia Condemns Iranian Crackdown

Australia has condemned the “deadly and disproportionate use of force” by authorities in Iran against protesters who have flooded the streets across the country following the death in custody of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini who was arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. Women are required to wear a hijab from…


Canada to Impose Sanctions on Iran’s ‘Morality Police’ Amid Protest Clampdown

Canada will impose sanctions on those involved in the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, including Iran’s so-called “morality police,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says. In a press conference on Sept. 26, Trudeau announced that his government will levy new sanctions on Iran following the death of 22-year-old Amini, and the state’s violent clampdown on…


Quebec Board Wrong to Hire Teacher Who Wore Hijab Given Secularism Law: Legault

MONTREAL—Premier Francois Legault says a school board in western Quebec should not have hired a teacher who wore a hijab. Legault told reporters today in Quebec City the province’s secularism law, known as Bill 21, has been in place since June 2019 and the Western Quebec School Board should have respected it when hiring. It…


Turkey Condemns EU Court Ruling on Headscarf Ban as Violation of Freedoms

ANKARA—Turkey on Sunday slammed a ruling by a top European Union court allowing the banning of headscarves under certain conditions as a “clear violation of religious freedoms,” adding the move would exacerbate prejudices against Muslim women in Europe. The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled on Thursday that companies in the bloc can ban…


EU Court Says Headscarves Can Be Banned at Work Under Certain Conditions

BRUSSELS—Companies may ban Muslim employees from wearing a headscarf under certain conditions, the European Union’s top court said on Thursday in a ruling on two cases brought by women in Germany who were suspended from their jobs for wearing one. The issue of the hijab, the traditional headscarf worn around the head and shoulders, has…