Iran actress Afsaneh Bayegan gets suspended prison sentence, travel ban for defying hijab

Iranian actress Afsaneh Baygan, a hijab opposer, has received a two-year suspended prison sentence and a two-year travel ban after she appeared in public without wearing the mandatory head covering. Taking to her official Instagram account, Baygan said that Iran’s judiciary has summoned her for “wearing a hat” and not the hijab in accordance with the country's moral code. The Iranian actress faced legal repercussions for defying the Iranian dress code that requires women to cover their hair with clothing as per the Islamic laws. 

Tehran Criminal Court handed down a ruling against her, advising her to visit the psychological centres weekly, or resort to "treatment of mental illness related to “antisocial personality disorder.” It also advised the actress to submit the "health certificate" at the end of the treatment to the ministry, according to the Tehran based newspaper Iran International.

Several Iranian actresses and women from other professions who have appeared in public without the hijab were arrested, summoned by the authorities, have gone missing, or prosecuted, with criminal courts ruling brutal sentences against the defendants for defying the dress code and exercising their individual rights and freedom.

Prominent Iranina actresses—Taraneh Alidoosti, Katayoun Riahi and Hengameh Ghaziani—have been detained arbitrarily for defying hijab, and another actress Leila Bolukat was sentenced to one year in prison and was banned from acting for up to two years.

Elaborating on her ordeal and questioning the court verdict against her, Baygan said, “Two months ago, I went to Shahrzad Theater Complex to watch a theatre performance. I wore a hat that covered most of my head and only a little of my hair and neck could be seen. Now, I face three to 12 months’ imprisonment under article 640 of the Penal Code." She added, that the article says that "anyone who exhibits or puts for public viewing, films, which offends public decency or morals. This means that if I am seen in public without a hijab, I will be fined according to article 638; if I attend a show wearing a hat, I will be imprisoned for a year???”

Iranian women protest against hijab covering with placards emblazoned with women's rights messages. Credit: AP

'I deserve more punishment because I am an actress': Afsaneh Baygan

The Iranian actress criticised the indictment, saying that "they [the authorities] write that I deserve more punishment because I am an actress. Years ago, I attended the Fajr International Film Festival by wearing a similar hat and I did not face any imprisonment. But today, wearing a hat is considered a crime.” She slammed the deteriorating condition of women's rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran as she underscored that she is now facing a suspended prison sentence for not covering her hair.

The actress' lawyer, Mehdi Kouhian, told the paper that she received a "two-year suspended imprisonment sentence for wearing a hat in public places." The penalties include "reading a book and summarizing its manuscript within two months," a "two-year ban on exiting the country," and "prohibition of direct or mediated use of cyberspace" by suspending the phone service and disabling the SIM card.  

The court ruling against the Iranian actress has triggered widespread protests from the "Women, Life, Freedom" demonstrators who widely rallied against the mandatory hijab after the death of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the Iranian morality police custody. This week, the Iranian morality police have once again resumed their patrols to coerce women to comply with strict Islamic dress codes and punish those in violation of the rule. 

Saeid Montazeralmahdi, the spokesman for Iran’s enforcement body, Faraja, said that the Iranian morality police has restarted the patrols on both vehicles and the rule to instate the hijab code, according to the state-run Fars news agency. Officers, he said, are warning the women who are not complying with head covering, and those who “insist on breaking the norms" will face legal action, a spokesman for Iran’s enforcement body asserted.