Iran Forces Women Defying Hijab Laws Into Psychiatric Treatment

Authorities in Iran are trying to enforce laws obligating women to cover their hair by sending them into psychological treatment. While healthcare organisations warn the country’s judiciary is hijacking psychiatric medicine for its own purposes, others cite the move as being a sign of the government’s inability to enforce hijab laws.

In a symbolic act of defiance, Iranian actress Afsaneh Bayegan has repeatedly posted photos of her unveiled hair on Instagram, and recently attended a public ceremony without a hijab. 

The move irked Iranian authorities, who have been looking for new ways to force women into covering their hair and gave her a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to visit a “psychological centre” once a week to treat what they said was her anti-family personality disorder.

Many Iranian women have chosen to start showing their hair since the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 after being detained by Iran’s morality police for “improperly” wearing her headscarf.

Iranian celebrities, athletes and actresses have followed suit in solidarity. 

Bayegan’s case is not an isolated one. Iranian judges recently “diagnosed” Iranian actress Azadeh Samadi with an “antisocial personality disorder” after she wore a hat instead of a hijab at a funeral.

At the start of July, a Tehran court sentenced a woman to two months in prison and six months of psychological treatment for “a contagious psychological disorder that leads to sexual promiscuity” because she didn’t wear a hijab.

The surge in sentences forcing women to undergo psychological treatment has alarmed the Iranian psychiatric sector who are accusing authorities of exploiting psychiatry for other purposes.