The Islamic Republic is preparing to open a purported mental health clinic in Tehran to provide treatment for women who refuse to wear a hijab in public.
The institution, named the Clinic for Quitting Hijab Removal, reflects the regime's longstanding practice of treating individuals who defy strict Islamic law interpretations as suffering from some level of psychiatric illness.
“The establishment of this center will be for the scientific and psychological treatment of removing the hijab, specifically for the teenage generation, young adults, and women seeking social and Islamic identity and visiting this center is optional," the incoming director, Mehri Talebi Darestani, said in a statement.
Darestani is expected to report to the theocracy’s Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a powerful government agency tasked with overseeing and enforcing the regime’s behavioral standards. Her directives and policy guidelines will ultimately be determined by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who holds control over both the country’s foreign and domestic affairs.
The decision comes in the wake of the arrest and subsequent hospitalization of Iranian doctoral student Ahoo Daryaei, who disrobed in protest following a November 2 interrogation by authorities. The 30-year-old had been detained at the Tehran campus of the Islamic Azad University for the manner in which she wore her headscarf.
Opposition to the regime’s dress code, which also punishes those who adorn non-loose-fitting clothing, gained widespread international attention following the 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Amini died from reported blunt force trauma to her head while in police custody, following her arrest over allegations of improperly wearing a hijab.
Related Story: Tehran Sends Security Forces to Mahsa Amini’s Hometown on Anniversary of Police Custody Death, Family Under House Arrest: Reports
