An Iranian minister has called on the government to promote greater openness in the social space, especially for women, in the context of the protest triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, Iranian media reported on Thursday.
Coming out of a government meeting on Wednesday (January 25th), Tourism and Heritage Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami alluded to the fact that more and more women have been seen bareheaded in public since the start of the protest movement, while the law requires the wearing of a veil since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
“We can no longer be hard on the people”
"
I advise a man who behaves severely
" towards a woman not wearing a veil "
to close his eyes if looking at her excites
him ," said the minister, quoted by the Isna news agency and several daily newspapers.
"
Narrowness unfortunately exists in the country but we can no longer be hard on the people
," he said.
"
To develop tourism and improve social life, you have to open up space, understand the people and not be strict with them
," he said.
Read also“Iran, a three-millennium civilization, by rejecting the veil, rejects Sharia and Islam”
Ezzatollah Zarghami was strongly criticized by ultraconservatives last October for denouncing a state organization responsible for overseeing the Muslim veil.
“
Today, our young girls and students walk down the street without headscarves.
What happened ?
“, had also declared in November the minister, quoted by the media.
On January 10, the Judicial Authority declared that it wanted to reapply a law providing for severe sanctions, such as exile, for people who do not respect the obligation to wear the veil.
Read alsoDeath of Mahsa Amini: it is "all of Iran which is now demonstrating"
Iran has been rocked by protests since the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran by morality police who accused her of breaking the strict dress code imposing in particular on women wearing the veil in public.
Iranian authorities generally refer to the protests as "
riots
" encouraged by countries and organizations hostile to Iran.