New Delhi: A 31-year-old mother of two, Arezoo Badri, has been left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by Iranian police for not fully covering her head with a hijab.

On July 22, in the city of Nur, about 121 miles north of Tehran, police pulled her over while she was driving home. They reportedly tried to seize her car because she wasn’t adhering to the country’s strict hijab rules.

Police shooting justified, says Nur Police Chief

Colonel Ahmed Amini, the police chief of Nur, confirmed that a driver was shot by officers for not complying with police orders, though he did not mention Ms. Badri by name. He stated that the shooting was justified under Iranian law. It remains unclear if Ms. Badri’s headscarf met the legal requirements. Her car had a confiscation notice, indicating multiple alleged violations of the law.

John Strawson, an expert in Middle East Studies and human rights at the University of East London’s Department of Law, Justice, and Policing, told the Mirror that Ms. Badri’s car was shot at a few weeks after the Iranian presidential elections but before President Pezeshtian, who was elected as a reformist promising to end the harassment of women, took office.

Rising Tensions: Iran’s new leadership fuels crackdown on women 

During a period of tension between Iranian political factions, the police and ‘morality’ militias, particularly outside Tehran in places like Nur in the north, seemed eager to demonstrate their commitment to enforcing hijab laws. Although the new president had made promises to women, he recently appointed two very conservative politicians to the important roles of interior and intelligence ministers.

Esmail Khatib and Eskandar Momeni are both linked to the severe crackdown on women, leading to the resignation of Mohammad Javad Zarif, the well-known former foreign minister and current Vice-President, in protest. Meanwhile, Arezoo Bardri is in the hospital facing life-altering effects from the attack on her, leaving other women in Iran to wonder what their future holds.

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