On September 4, 2023, Iranian authorities shut down a water park after it was reported that it allowed women to visit the park without wearing the mandatory headscarf, that is, the Hijab, local media reported.
The closure of the water park is part of extended increased measures adopted by the government authorities in the past few months against businesses and women that do not abide by the rules and strict dress code of the Islamic Republic.
Reason behind closure
“The Mojhaye Khoroushan water park has been closed since September 3, 2023, the complex manager, Mohammed Babaei, was quoted by the Fars News Agency as saying. He stated that the closure of the park had been declared by the authorities because of people ignoring the chastity and hijab rules.
Since 1983 and the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the women of Iran have had to cover their heads and necks, and Babaei stated that the park adhered to the laws and added that female visitors were strictly and regularly warned to respect the Hijab rules.
Speaking to Fars, Babaei said around 1,000 people who are employed at the water park are now fearful of losing their jobs. The Mojhaye Khoroushan Complex, which is spread in 60,000 square meters, is one of the largest indoor water parks.
Significance of the Water Park
The Mojhaye Khoroushan Water Park is located on the outskirts of the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, where the shrine of the 8th Shiite Imam of Islam is located.
Challenges to the Dress Code
The dress code has been increasingly violated and flouted by the women of Iran after the mass protests took place after the death of Jinsa Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Woman in the custody of the Gasht-e-Ershad moral police. The demands of the people, especially the women, are not just limited to dress code. They want freedom and more freedom than the Islamic Republic.
New Hijab Laws in Iran
The draconian Iranian authorities in Iran have formed severe religious rules and regulations even after the mass protests that jolted the country after the death of Mahsa Amini. They have formed a seventy-article proposal that includes brutal punishments, such as longer prison terms for women who refuse to wear the veil. This is called “The Hijab and Chastity Bill”
The new bill would reclassify failure to wear the hijab as a more severe offence, punishable by a five to ten-year prison sentence as well as the highest fine of up to 360 million Iranian Rials. Another section states the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the Iranian police to identify the perpetrators of the illegal behaviour using fixed mobiles and cameras. Cameras will be installed in public places to identify women flouting the country’s hijab law.
Also, under the new law, business owners who do not enforce the hijab requirements will face steeper fines, potentially amounting to three months of business profit and face bans on leaving the country or participating in public or cyber activity for up to two years.
The bill also targets celebrities who may face a fine of up to a tenth of their wealth, exclusion from employment or professional activities for a specific amount of time as well as the ban on international travel and social media activities.
Reaction to the New Bill
On September 3, 2023, 175 members of Iran’s parliament voted in favour of the move, while 49 voted against it. If Iran’s Guardian Council, a separate unelected body in Iran’s theocratic system, approves the bill, then it would go forward on a pilot basis for between three and five years, then the members of the Parliament could then progress these measures into permanent laws.
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