In the propagation of the myth of all-round vulnerability of women lies the strength of the Iranian state. It helps perpetuate a dominant male order with control over women’s bodies, their attire, speech and movement. The slightest sign of digression, let alone defiance, as in the case of Mahsa Amini who was arrested by morality police for dress code violation, is considered a challenge to age-old male hegemony. Of course, it helps to cloak such a lopsided gender discourse under the blanket of religion. That has been the way through centuries across civilisations. Men order, women acquiesce.
If in India right-wing politicians are trying to deprive girls the freedom to wear hijab to school, the situation is diametrically different in Iran. The men, through the authority of the state, are seeking to keep women under wraps from head to toe, depriving them of their right to choose. Amini’s crime was to upset the male hegemony, a supremacy so delicate it could be ripped apart with the mere act of improper wearing or casting off hijab.
It is worth recalling that Prophet Muhammed did not even punish those who failed to turn up for Friday prayers. Why penalise a small misdemeanour by a young lady? The Quran through Surah Nur and Ahzaab provides a general guideline about social conduct and clothes permissible to be worn by both the sexes. Unlike the case of adultery, the book talks of no punitive measures for violation of the dress code, leaving it to the discretion of the Almighty. Further, the Quran explicitly forbids compulsion in religion through select verses of Surah Yasin and Kafirun. What is happening in Iran is a case of state trying to play God.
