Sediqeh Vasmaghi’s Complaint of Pressure and Torture in Prison in a Letter to the UN Committee
Sediqeh Vasmaghi, an Islamic scholar and critic of the Islamic Republic, wrote in a letter to several UN committees and human rights organizations that she was imprisoned for removing her headscarf and has endured imprisonment with torture and hard labor for over forty days due to lack of vision.
In this letter, she writes, ‘I have dedicated most of my life to studying, teaching, and researching in the field of religion, especially Islamic jurisprudence. The result of my research on women’s dress is that religious women are not obligated to cover their hair under Islamic law, and some independent religious scholars share this belief. For decades, many Iranian women have opposed the mandatory hijab law, and I have also removed my headscarf in opposition to this law and in protest against the oppression of women and their dignity.’