Viral Video: Iranian Mother Without Hijab Confronts Cleric Who Filmed Her In Hospital

A video of an Iranian mother arguing with a cleric who took pictures of her for not wearing a hijab has gone viral, sparking concerns for her safety. The Iranian judiciary has initiated legal proceedings following the circulation of the video depicting the tense encounter.

The incident occurred at a clinic in the Iranian city of Qom, where the woman, without a headscarf, sought medical help for her child. The cleric was seen recording her with his phone, prompting the woman’s furious demand that the video be deleted.

1979 revolution

In the video, the angry mother can be seen shouting at the cleric for taking photographs of her waiting with her child in a clinic without the headscarf that has been obligatory for women in public since the years after the 1979 revolution. Some users on the internet drew comparisons to a famous photograph captured during the Iranian Revolution.

“I find it wonderful that she stood up and that other women came to back her up. This is unacceptable,” said one of the users on X. “What is more important a hijab or a mother that takes care of her kid? Poor women in Iran and all these foolish rules, misogynists that are behind religion. It is slavery,” another said. “Makes me so angry to watch – will we ever get rid of people who violate the freedom of others?”

Four Arrested

Iranian media reported on Tuesday that the government has arrested four people on suspicion of giving a foreign-based broadcaster a video of an argument between a Shiite cleric and a woman not wearing the mandatory headscarf.

The deputy prosecutor of Qom, Ruhollah Moslemhkani, said four of the “main publishers and senders” of the video to the “enemy (Iran) International network” had been arrested, the Fars news agency reported. “What is clear to us, and we are sure of, is a design and planning had been made to create division and sedition in the society,” he added.

The incident sparked widespread condemnation on social media, with many denouncing the cleric’s actions as harassment and a violation of privacy. It reignited debates about Iran’s hijab regulations and the role of religious authorities.

This incident comes in the wake of the continued international outcry over the Sept. 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian woman arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic’s mandatory dress code. Her death sparked months of anti-government protest in the biggest show of opposition to the authorities in years.

(With agency inputs)