Tehran University To ‘Strictly’ Enforce Mandatory Hijab
The dean of Tehran University has threatened that based on a new decision students who do not comply with compulsory hijab will "be subject to disciplinary action".
The dean of Tehran University has threatened that based on a new decision students who do not comply with compulsory hijab will "be subject to disciplinary action".
Mohammad Moghimi said Thursday that according to the new regulation approved by the university council, women without proper hijab will be identified upon entering through their student cards.
According to him, after identifying the students, messages will be sent to them, and they will be asked to observe the mandatory hijab.
“In the next step, the university will contact the student's family and if the student still does not observe the mandatory hijab, a disciplinary case will be filed against her,” added Moghimi.
The dean of Tehran University warned the students that “as of now, the mandatory hijab regulations will be strictly enforced.”
During the nationwide protests in Iran following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, universities have been the scene of anti-regime protests, however the authorities of the Islamic Republic have imposed extensive restrictions on the protesting students.
For instance, a few days ago, Shargh daily reported that security organs have banned around 50 students from entering Urmia University in the northwest.
After months of protests, many women have removed their hijab in big cities and the government is hesitating on a full clampdown, afraid that it would inflame more unrest.
Earlier, sources reported increasing pressure through "exclusion from dormitories and suspending students."
According to videos on social media, truckers in some cities such as Tabriz in northwestern Iran and Zahedan in southeastern are stranded around gas stations apparently due to a lack of diesel fuel and compressed natural gas (CNG).
Gas supplies to homes, which the government tried to protect during past cold season crunches, have also been interrupted in some regions. While offices and schools in Iran have been closed for days due to a serious natural gas shortage, long lines have also been formed in the cities where people use gas in capsules for their daily needs.
Amid natural gas shortage due to the government inability to invest in production, a new wave of strikes by oil and gas industry workers has kicked off in the country.
On Thursday, workers of the Qeshm oil terminal joined the strikes which have already started with gatherings in Ahvaz, Asaluyeh, Dehloran, Shiraz, Ilam, Bandar Lengeh and Aghajari in the south and southwest of Iran.
The Qeshm oil terminal is a major oil export terminal being developed in the Qeshm Island that lies along the strategically important trade route of the Strait of Hormuz, off the southern coast of Iran.
Fadahossein Maleki, the representative of Zahedan in the parliament, said Wednesday that "There is no gas supply in many areas of Sistan-Baluchistan province.” Even bottled gas and kerosene that should be given to the people is scarce, he added.
Moineddin Saeedi, representing Chabahar, in the underprivileged province said at the parliament Wednesday that "In August, the oil minister predicted a harsh winter in Europe... Now we have seen that this did not happen there and unfortunately it happened in our own country." He added that gas has become a "luxury commodity" and access to it has become a dream for many people.
Similar problems have also been reported in other parts of the country such as the central province of Esfahan (Isfahan), northern provinces of Mazandaran and Golestan, and northeastern Khorasan provinces.
While Islamic Republic officials predicted a bad winter in Europe, offices, organizations, schools, and universities were shut down in many parts of Iran.
With natural gas shortage, Iran resorted to burning mazut at power stations, which is an extremely polluting fuel compared with cleaner diesel.
Iran has failed to invest in its gas production sector, although it has the world’s second largest reserves, while with extremely cheap prices for consumers, usage has been increasing ever faster. The distribution network also needs upgrades as more than 25 percent of the gas is lost during transfer.
Iran's gas production and extraction capacity is limited to around 800 million cubic meters per day. According to the ministry of energy, about 650 million cubic meters are consumed by domestic, commercial, and administrative users, however, the data has changed a lot in different years and contradict international estimates. The international energy organizations say less than 40% of Iran's natural gas is consumed at homes, but the Islamic Republic is trying to blame the shortage of gas on home users.
