Prominent Iranian female religious scholar Sedigheh Vasmaghi has challenged Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the Islamic republic’s mandatory hijab law, holding him responsible for the "financial, physical, social, moral, psychological, and political" consequences of confronting opponents to the legislation.
In a letter to Khamenei, Vasmaghi criticized the Islamic republic's interpretation of the hijab as an obligatory religious law, saying the government's approach to the issue is politically motivated rather than religious.
Vasmaghi’s letter came amid warnings from several senior Iranian officials that the removal of the hijab in public was religiously banned.
In a recent interview with RFERL’s Radio Farda, Vasmaghi said that while she wears a hijab, it is her choice and that others should be able to make their choice without "the influence of force and threats."
In the wake of the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while she was in custody for an alleged hijab violation, tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets -- with many women removing their head scarves and burning them -- to voice their anger with a 1983 law that makes it mandatory for all women to wear a head scarf while in public.
The Islamic scholar also highlighted the government's recent actions, including sealing shops that serve women not wearing the hijab and issuing disciplinary threats, saying such moves will ultimately do more damage to the government than anything else.
"You have made the religious law a customary one; [a law] that is not accepted by the people and has harmful consequences can no longer be respected in terms of customs," Vasmaghi said.
"Their predictions are not correct. Their analysis of society is wrong. They do not know the young generation, even our generation who created the revolution. They do not know and do not realize that we have changed, too, and we cannot tolerate such behavior, policies, and models."