Iran has launched a new mental health clinic in Tehran aimed at “treating” women who refuse to wear the hijab. Named the Clinic for Quitting Hijab Removal, the facility is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to suppress female resistance following the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising of 2022.
Mehri Talebi Darestani, who will lead the clinic, explained that the center will focus on the “scientific and psychological treatment” of women, particularly teenagers and young adults, who are seeking to remove the hijab. The clinic’s goal is to promote “dignity, modesty, chastity, and hijab” while offering treatment that she claims will be “optional.”
The clinic will be supervised by Iran’s Headquarters for Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Evil, a government body responsible for enforcing Islamic standards. This department has faced international sanctions, including from the UK, for its human rights abuses and the harsh penalties imposed on women who defy the country’s strict dress code. It is headed by Mohammed Saleh Hashemi Golpayegani, appointed directly by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
This move follows rising protests against mandatory hijab laws, sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who died after being arrested by the morality police for allegedly violating the hijab rules.
