Iran probes Kish Island marathon after women ran without hijab

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Iranian authorities have opened a criminal case against the organisers of a marathon on Kish island, the judiciary said, after images emerged of women competing without hijab.

More than 5,000 people took part in Friday’s race, according to local media, with images online showing a number of runners who were not following the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women, which was enshrined in law in the early 1980s.

“Despite previous warnings regarding the need to comply with the country’s current laws and regulations, as well as religious, customary, and professional principles… the event was held in a way that violated public decency,” the local prosecutor was quoted as saying in the judiciary’s official news outlet, Mizan Online.

“Considering the violations that occurred and based on the laws and regulations, a criminal case has been filed against the officials and agents organising this event.”

Conservative-aligned outlets including Tasnim and Fars had earlier condemned the marathon as indecent and disrespectful to Islamic laws enforced after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed shah.

Women in Iran are required to cover their hair and wear modest, loose-fitting clothing in public.

But adherence to the hijab rules has become more sporadic since the 2022 protests that followed the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman arrested over an alleged dress-code breach.

Earlier this week, a majority of lawmakers accused the judiciary of failing to uphold the hijab law.

Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei later called for stricter enforcement.

Iran’s government under President Masoud Pezeshkian has refused to ratify a bill passed by the parliament that would have imposed tough penalties for women who do not observe the dress code.

In May 2023, the head of Iran’s athletics federation resigned after women without headscarves took part in a sporting event in the southern city of Shiraz.

AFP

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