Iranian women arrested after man attacks them with yoghurt for not wearing hijab

President Ebrahim Raisi reiterates that women should wear the headscarf as a 'religious necessity'

A screen grab from a Reuters video shows a man in Iran throwing yogurt on two women for not covering their hair.

Two women have been arrested in Iran after a man attacked them with yoghurt, apparently for not covering their hair in public.

A video of the incident went viral on social media. It showed two women being approached by a man in a shop, who threw yoghurt over their heads.

The judiciary said the two women were detained on charges of showing their hair in public, which is illegal in Iran.

The man was held for disturbing the public order.

Arrest warrants were issued and the three were subsequently arrested, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.

The arrests follow months of protests in the country demanding an end to the compulsory wearing of the headscarf. Not wearing the hijab in public is illegal for women in Iran.

The law has driven dissent in Iranian society, with protests spreading across the Islamic Republic in September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained by morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab “improperly”.

A hardline Iranian MP, Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, issued an ultimatum to the judiciary to come up with measures to put a stop to the flouting of the rules within the next 48 hours.

On Saturday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated that Iranian women should wear the hijab as a “religious necessity”.

Mahsa Amini's death in Iranian custody ignited protests against mandatory hijab laws across the world, with women taking to the streets to demand their right to choose what to wear. AFP

Women who refuse to wear the hijab have risked arrest, fines, and even violence.

Under Iran's interpretation of Sharia, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes.

The hardline rules have faced significant backlash, with growing numbers of women defying authorities by discarding their veils in public. The Iranian authorities show no sign of relenting on this issue, and the situation remains tense.