Two women in Iran who had yoghurt thrown over them after entering a store with their hair not fully covered have been arrested.
For several months, Iranians have taken to the streets nationwide in protest against Iran’s mandatory hijab law, and political and social issues across the country, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in September.
CCTV footage shared widely on social media appears to show a man accosting one of the women, who was not wearing a headscarf, after spotting her from outside.
While the footage has no audio, he appears to become increasingly irate at her responses, prompting a woman queueing in front to turn around and intervene.
Losing his temper, the man picks up what appears to be a tub of yoghurt from a shelf and forcefully tips it over the first woman’s hair.
He then turns to the second woman, who was wearing a headscarf that covered most but not all of her hair, and shakes the rest of the tub’s contents onto her head.
The women – who are understood to be a mother and daughter – were both arrested for failing to properly cover their hair, authorities in the city of Mashhad said this weekend.
An arrest warrant has also been issued against the man for ‘committing an insulting act and disturbing the public order’, officials added.
Security forces have violently cracked down on the demonstrations, with thousands of arrests and four executions of protesters.
Social media continues to be flooded by videos showing women risking arrest by walking around streets, shops and restaurants while unveiled.
Highlighting the widespread unpopularity of the rules, the footage of the yoghurt incident also shows a middle-aged male shop worker angrily reacting by shoving the perpetrator out of the shop.
Iran’s legal authorities said the owner of the store has also been warned to ‘comply with Sharia laws and regulations’.
On Saturday the Iranian authorities repeated their stance that wearing the hijab was compulsory, ‘The important matter is that today we have a legal mandate,’ said Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, according to Reuters.
‘The legal mandate makes it mandatory for everyone to follow the law.’
The country’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, said: ‘If some people say they don’t believe [in the hijab] … it’s good to use persuasion.
‘But the important point is that there is a legal requirement … and the hijab is today a legal matter.’
Iran’s Ministry of Interior said that the ‘hijab is an unquestionable religious necessity,’ according to a tweet from the agency on Saturday.
