Sepideh Rashno, a student and artist, is still detained at Ward A-1 of the Iranian IRGC prison. After a fight on a city bus with a lady who harassed and abused her for wearing an inappropriate headscarf, security personnel detained Rashno on July 16. As the government has increased the regulation of the hijab, such events are becoming more common in public spaces.
Sepideh Rashno, a student activist and artist, is reportedly being kept at an Iranian IRGC detention facility until further legal action, according to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists.
She continues to be denied access to a lawyer and phone calls while incarcerated.
Rashno is currently facing an unknown set of charges.
On social media last week, a video of a woman bullying another and berating her for wearing an inappropriate hijab went viral. Iranian IRGC forces detained Khorramabad resident and artist Rashno after the video was released.
How important adherence to the Islamic code is for the government is shown by the Iranian regime’s encouragement of citizens to participate in its public enforcement as a religious responsibility.
A prominent hardliner has refuted reports of hijab patrols in Iran, claiming that the opposition is using rare incidents to engage in “psychological warfare” by drawing attention to them.
On July 19, an occurrence that stunned many Iranians occurred. A teenager who was in the street with her mother was detained by a patrol van. She threw her body onto the bonnet of the car as it attempted to move and propelled herself back at it. To terrify her into letting go, the van continued to move forward.