Marathon Organisers Arrested in Iran For Allowing Women to Compete Without Hijab

Two organisers of a marathon on Iran's Kish Island have been arrested after several female participants ran without the mandatory headscarf, the nation's judiciary announced on Saturday.

The arrests follow Friday's race, where images circulated online showing women competing without adhering to the Islamic Republic's strict dress code. While the law requiring women to cover their hair in public remains in effect, its enforcement has become less consistent following widespread protests in 2022.

The judiciary's official news outlet, Mizan Online, reported that arrest warrants were issued for "two of the main organisers of the competition." It specified that one of the individuals is an official in the Kish free zone, while the other is an employee of the private company that managed the event.

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According to local media, over 5,000 people participated in the marathon. The local prosecutor, quoted by Mizan, stated that a criminal case had been opened against the organisers for holding an event that "violated public decency."

"Despite previous warnings regarding the need to comply with the country's current laws and regulations... the event was held in a way that violated public decency," the prosecutor's statement read.

Conservative media outlets, including Tasnim and Fars, had previously condemned the event, describing it as disrespectful to Islamic laws established after the 1979 Revolution. In Iran, women are legally required to cover their hair and wear modest, loose-fitting clothing in public.

Observance of the hijab law has noticeably declined since the 2022 protests, which were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman detained for an alleged dress-code violation.

This has led to increased tension, with a majority of lawmakers recently criticising the judiciary for what they see as a failure to enforce the law. In response, Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei called for stricter enforcement.

This incident is not the first of its kind. In May 2023, the head of Iran's athletics federation resigned after women competed without headscarves at a sporting event in the city of Shiraz.