Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Iran Targets E-Commerce Giant Over Photos of Female Employees Without Headscarves in New Crackdown
By admin
Published 1 year ago on
July 25, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian authorities have shut down one of the offices of the country’s biggest e-commerce company and launched judicial procedures after it published pictures online showing female employees not wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf, semi-official media reported.

The move appears to be part of a new campaign launched last week to impose the Islamic dress code nearly a year after the morality police largely melted away in the face of widespread protests.

Digikala, informally known as “Iran’s Amazon,” appears to have run afoul of the rules by posting pictures of a corporate gathering in which several female employees were not wearing the hijab.

The company boasts more than 40 million active monthly users and hosts over 300,000 merchants. Iranians are largely cut off from international retailers like Amazon because of Western sanctions linked to the country’s disputed nuclear program.

The website of Iran’s Hamshahri daily, which is affiliated with the municipality of the capital, Tehran, reported late Sunday that one of Digikala’s offices had been sealed. It said the website was operating normally.

The website of Iran’s judiciary said court cases had been filed in connection with the photos, without elaborating.

Nationwide protests erupted last fall after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police. She appears to have been detained for violating the country’s dress code, which requires that both men and women dress conservatively and that women cover their hair in public.

The protests, in which women played a leading role, quickly escalated into calls for the overthrow of Iran’s theocracy, which took power after the 1979 revolution. Authorities responded with a heavy crackdown in which more than 500 protesters were killed and nearly 20,000 were detained. The protests largely faded at the start of this year but there are still widespread signs of discontent.

After the protests began, the morality police largely vanished from the streets and many women — particularly in Tehran and other cities — stopped wearing the hijab.

But officials insisted throughout the crisis that the rules had never changed. Iran’s ruling clerics view the hijab as a key pillar of the Islamic Republic and consider Western-style dress to be a sign of decadence.

Last week, the morality police returned to the streets as officials announced a new campaign to force women to wear the hijab.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

SEC Sues Elon Musk, Saying He Didn’t Disclose Twitter Ownership on Time Before Buying It

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Faces Murder Charges in Crash That Killed Four

DON'T MISS

An Important Reservoir Was Offline When California Fires Began

DON'T MISS

Freshman Congressman Adam Gray Lands on Ag, Natural Resources Committees

DON'T MISS

Biden Moves to Lift State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation for Cuba, Part of Deal to Free Prisoners

DON'T MISS

Capital One Sued by US Watchdog Alleging Bank Cheated Customers Out of $2 Billion

DON'T MISS

Millions Under Extreme Fire Weather Alert as Strong Winds Lash Southern California

DON'T MISS

How the CIA Director Helps the US Navigate a World of Spies, Threats and Geopolitical Turbulence

DON'T MISS

Gov. Newsom, Mayor Bass Targeted in Wildfire Witch Hunt

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Officer Injured While Responding to Suspected DUI Call

UP NEXT

Russia’s Top Diplomat Praises Trump’s Views on Ukraine Conflict

UP NEXT

As Crazy as It Sounds, Trump’s Approach to Foreign Policy Could Work

UP NEXT

Israel’s Netanyahu Sends Mossad Director to Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Qatar

UP NEXT

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Sworn In Despite Credible Evidence of Election Loss

UP NEXT

US Increases Bounty to $25M on Venezuelan’s Maduro

UP NEXT

Inside Trump’s Search for a Health Threat to Justify His Immigration Crackdown

UP NEXT

Italian Journalist Freed From Detention in Iran, Returns Home

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Change the Name of the Gulf of Mexico

UP NEXT

Hurdles Remain as Israel and Hamas Once Again Inch Toward a Ceasefire Deal

UP NEXT

Absent Reforms, Progressive Governance May Disappear Across the Globe

Freshman Congressman Adam Gray Lands on Ag, Natural Resources Committees

6 hours ago

Biden Moves to Lift State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation for Cuba, Part of Deal to Free Prisoners

7 hours ago

Capital One Sued by US Watchdog Alleging Bank Cheated Customers Out of $2 Billion

7 hours ago

Millions Under Extreme Fire Weather Alert as Strong Winds Lash Southern California

7 hours ago

How the CIA Director Helps the US Navigate a World of Spies, Threats and Geopolitical Turbulence

7 hours ago

Gov. Newsom, Mayor Bass Targeted in Wildfire Witch Hunt

8 hours ago

Clovis Police Officer Injured While Responding to Suspected DUI Call

8 hours ago

A Possible TikTok Ban Is Just Days Away. A List of Other Apps Available

8 hours ago

Karen Bass Faces Growing Backlash Over Handling of LA Fires. Will She Resign?

9 hours ago

Before Taking Office, LA’s Mayor Said She Would Not Go Abroad

9 hours ago

SEC Sues Elon Musk, Saying He Didn’t Disclose Twitter Ownership on Time Before Buying It

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued billionaire Elon Musk, saying he failed to disclose his ownership of Twitter stock in a...

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

SEC Sues Elon Musk, Saying He Didn’t Disclose Twitter Ownership on Time Before Buying It

4 hours ago

Fresno County Man Faces Murder Charges in Crash That Killed Four

The smoldering wreckage of beachfront structures destroyed by the Palisade Fire in Malibu, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. The threat of more fires propelled by blistering Santa Ana winds hung over southern California on Friday as firefighters battled to contain the raging blazes that have killed at least 10 people and destroyed thousands of structures. (Loren Elliott/The New York Times)
6 hours ago

An Important Reservoir Was Offline When California Fires Began

6 hours ago

Freshman Congressman Adam Gray Lands on Ag, Natural Resources Committees

7 hours ago

Biden Moves to Lift State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation for Cuba, Part of Deal to Free Prisoners

7 hours ago

Capital One Sued by US Watchdog Alleging Bank Cheated Customers Out of $2 Billion

7 hours ago

Millions Under Extreme Fire Weather Alert as Strong Winds Lash Southern California

7 hours ago

How the CIA Director Helps the US Navigate a World of Spies, Threats and Geopolitical Turbulence

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend