Iranian Engineer Who Protested Mandatory Hijab Expresses “Regrets”

An Iranian woman who recently threw her hijab during a meeting of engineers has released a video in which she expressed regrets over the incident.

The clip was published online on February 22, and many Iranians suspect Zainab Kazempour had bowed to threats from security forces.

The Iranian authorities have a history of pressuring individuals to publish videos in which they “confess” to crimes they have not committed or express “regret” over their actions.

A video that went viral on social media on February 17 showed Kazempour throwing her headscarf to the floor and walking away from a meeting of the Construction Engineering Organization of Tehran province.

The protest action came after she was barred from running for the organization’s board of directors because she did not wear the mandatory hijab.

"I do not recognize the assembly that does not allow candidates to run for not wearing a headscarf," the defiant engineer said on stage.

Tasnim news agency has reported that a legal case was filed against Kazempour for "insulting the sanctity of hijab."

Kazempour's bold act of defiance came amid five months of nationwide demonstrations triggered by the September death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of morality police. Amini had been arrested for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.

Young Iranian women have been at the forefront of the demonstrations demanding fundamental economic, social and political reforms in the country. A growing number of them, including celebrities, have appeared in public without head coverings or have set them on fire.