Nasrin Sotoudeh says she will appeal the court’s decision.
She publicly removed her veil in protest of Iran’s compulsory headscarf law, after which she was jailed.
Following her release on bail of around Dhs66,000, Narges Hosseini was this week sentenced to two years in prison for her actions—but she’s vowing to fight the verdict.
Read:
We have to fight against ideology, not just extremists, says Malala Yousafzai
Social media influencers in the UAE will now need a licence
The woman, who was identified by her attorney, was handed down a sentence of 24 months, during the first three months of which she cannot apply for parole.
However, speaking to Radio Farda this week, Hosseini revealed she planned to appeal the court’s decision.
“I had prepared myself for any conviction before removing my headscarf, but I did not expect to be condemned to prison and paying a huge fine. I was shocked by the verdict,” she said.
For almost 40 years, women in Iran have been compelled by law to wear a headscarf in public.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, it was a rule enforced by the country’s Morality Police, who fined or even jailed women found to be breaching the law.
Even donning “bad hijab”, where women wearing a headscarf allowed a little hair to show above their forehead, could incur repercussions.
However Tehran police revealed in January that women who go without a hijab in the capital will no longer be arrested if they do not observe the nation’s dress code.
Instead, women caught without a headscarf will be made to attend Islam educational classes, according to local media reports that cited Tehran police chief General Hossein Rahimi.
“Those who do not observe the Islamic dress code will no longer be taken to detention centres, nor will judicial cases be filed against them,” General Rahimi was quoted as saying.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency added, however, that repeat offenders could still be subject to legal action—and that arrests could still be enforced outside the capital.
Read:
Prince William is coming to the Middle East on a landmark visit
Here’s your handy guide to this year’s Art Dubai
In many other Middle Eastern countries, such as the UAE, the hijab is worn with pride by Muslim women but they face no legal obligations should they choose not to wear it.
In recent years, women in Iran have protested the law by removing their headscarf in public, even if just for a brief moment, and posting pictures on social media.
Some have even resorted to shaving their head so they can go without the hijab.
Images: Getty
