Iranian police shoot, paralyze woman over hijab law violation

Iranian police officers opened fire on a 31-year-old woman who attempted to speed away from them near the Caspian Sea, according to international media reports from the last week. The car was reportedly set to be seized after the woman previously exposed her hair in public in violation of Iran's law.

Police had been ordered to impound the car of 31-year-old Arezou Badri as she had been seen driving with her hair exposed. 

On July 22, at approximately 11 PM, Badri was reportedly traveling down a coastal road in the northern Mazandaran province with her sister when she was shot, according to ABC News.  Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted police Col. Ahmad Amini as saying the police had ordered a car with tinted windows to stop, which it failed to comply with. The IRNA report did not make any mention of an impound notice or modesty laws.

ICYMI: The family of Arezou Badri, a 31-year-old woman who's been paralyzed after being shot by Iran’s police on July 22 for allegedly violating mandatory hijab laws, is under intense government pressure to withdraw their complaint.https://t.co/WTuY9YAKIN pic.twitter.com/06S8NMAIIU

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) August 15, 2024

Human rights activists in Iran told the source that the officers had begun by shooting the vehicle's tires but fired into the vehicle as it continued to flee. 

Badri, a mother of two children, is now reportedly unable to walk and remains confined to a bed at a police hospital in Tehran. Her lung was pierced, and her spine was damaged during the incident, according to the reports.  Iran International reported Badri claimed she was now paralyzed, adding that she was in critical condition.

Reports that police in Iran shot and left Arezou Badri paralysed while enforcing compulsory veiling laws must be effectively investigated & those responsible held to account. This incident highlights the urgency of abolishing veiling laws & tackling Iran’s impunity crisis. pic.twitter.com/VeDSNmJTTt

— Amnesty International (@amnesty) August 14, 2024

While Iran's new President, Masoud Pezeshkian, was said to be more reformed than his competitors and had promised to relax the country's modesty laws, the anniversary of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's murder is approaching. Previous anniversaries have seen protests and Iran has increased the frequency of executions as of late. 

The NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against Death Penalty released a report claiming that 2023 saw a 43% increase in execution from 582 in 2022 to 834 in 2023.  Iran International reported that in the first seven months of 2024 alone, Iran executed over 300 people.

“They have elevated it to the most serious crime, where the police is allowed basically to shoot to kill,” Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, told ABC News. “That's really a war on women.”

Family members have been restricted from visiting Badri, activists told the Associated Press. 

Other anonymous sources told Iran International that Badri's sister is now being coerced to give a false confession on camera. 

“She has no sensation from the waist down, and doctors have said that it will be clear in the coming months whether she is completely paralyzed," said one anonymous activist in Iran.

The incident has been met with wide condemnation from human rights groups and Israeli officials. 

Arezu Badri, a 31-year-old Iranian woman and mother of two, was left paralyzed after being shot by the police for not wearing a hijab while driving her car.This is @khamenei_ir's murderous dictatorship - oppressing citizens and enforcing radical Islam.We must stop Iran now -… pic.twitter.com/ZkuUTIyW9k

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 14, 2024

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Wednesday, "Arezu Badri, a 31-year-old Iranian woman and mother of two, was left paralyzed after being shot by the police for not wearing a hijab while driving her car. This is @khamenei_ir's murderous dictatorship - oppressing citizens and enforcing radical Islam. We must stop Iran now - before it's too late."