The news of the closure of several businesses in Tehran, Rey, Shiraz, and other cities due to not following proper safety measures in recent days has become a headline. This incident has a direct impact on the livelihood of the employees of these businesses in the current economic situation and can put their income at risk.

Experts emphasize that it is not permissible to shut down a business due to an individual’s deviant behavior, according to the laws. However, the presidential advisor believes that generally, the issue of coverage is less considered or not observed at all in affluent business environments.

This news is being released in a situation where the society has not fully recovered its peace after the events of the past year. On the other hand, due to mismanagement, people are struggling with crippling economic pressures, which in many cases have led to the violation of their human dignity.

In a situation where people are tired of unfavorable living conditions, they have shouted their demands in social, cultural, and economic areas on the streets. The closure of businesses due to the issue of dress code – which happens to be one of the serious challenges between a part of society and some extremist groups within the political structure – is a place for reflection and requires a second look. To further examine this issue and have a comprehensive view on the recent decision of the parliament, we sat down for a conversation with Dr. Hossein Raghefar, an economist and university professor, which you can read below.

درست است

Is it right to determine punishment and penalty?“سلام، من از تهران هستم”

“Hello, I am from Tehran.”کی از بهترین چیزهایی که می توانید به خود بدهید

One of the best things you can give yourself.

Is cash not accepted in businesses and companies due to the lack of observing hijab and covering of customers and visitors in these places?

In the laws of the country, emphasis has been placed on the principle of the legality of crime and punishment, meaning that the legislator must first classify a matter as a crime and consider it as such, and then it must be communicated to the people so that they become aware of the existence of such a crime. In Islamic penal law, we do not have such a provision that if a violation of this kind occurs in a place, we close down that trade unit. In fact, even if a person becomes indebted, we cannot confiscate tools belonging to their profession, as this is considered under the category of “religious exemptions”.

Individual punishment for those who are considered by some to be loosely veiled or improperly veiled is specified in the law. This punishment includes a fine of up to 50,000 tomans and 10 days to two months of imprisonment. However, it does not include the closure of businesses. It is not clear whether these types of behaviors have been carried out according to the laws of the country or internal regulations and circulars of organizations. However, the principle of the legality of the crime and punishment makes us pursue the offender and their punishment.

We have a general principle called the principle of personal responsibility for crime and punishment. Keep in mind, the legislator has stated that punishment is for the direct perpetrator of the crime, or for accomplices or accessories to the crime as someone who facilitated the commission of the crime; we cannot punish other individuals except for these people. The legislator also did not say that we can use the discovery of a veil of a staff member or customer as evidence to close and seal a shopping center.

As stated in the law, hijab is a personal matter; meaning that if a citizen does not observe the desired hijab, the law has provided punishment for that individual. However, it is not legal to extend the punishment for hijab to private and public places that provide services to people. These places can ultimately monitor their own employees, but they cannot do so for those who visit there; because they are not law enforcement personnel who can take action. Closing a center due to customers not observing hijab, especially one that employs many people, is against the rights of those individuals. Nowhere in the law does it say that if a customer without hijab visits a store or shopping center, that center can be sealed.

I am surprised by these completely subjective strictnesses that are not in the law, and are not even mentioned in the guild law. These conditions can lead to stronger protests from the people. Women can be seen on the streets who do not care about hijab. Should the streets or taxis be closed for this reason?

It is not specified in the law that the workplace of a person who is not wearing a hijab or is loosely wearing a hijab should be closed. The judicial authority issuing the order must state the law that they are referring to in order to issue the sealing order. Assuming that there is a law for the closure of a business in such conditions, it should be noted that the crime has not yet been proven. Rather, the case of the person not wearing a hijab should be brought to court and the judge’s order should be issued. However, it seems that the cases of these establishments were in their early days. The issue is that the pharmacy or dental clinic has not committed any violations. If there is any violation, it is related to the person who was not wearing a hijab.

In light of the recent slogans announced by the leader of the Islamic Republic regarding support for production and business activities, does this slogan align with the recent bill proposed by the parliament regarding the hijab? Does this bill not harm the country’s production structure?

In a situation where the economic conditions of the people are undesirable and unemployment rates are high, the closure of a business unit is not good in terms of economy, legality, and public interests. On the other hand, it is important to note that we have previously witnessed a dual life in the country; one is a private life in which everyone chooses their own type of clothing based on their culture, and the other is outside of private life where people dress differently. But after recent events, the situation has changed drastically.

The root of conflicts such as the closure of trade unions due to issues related to dress code must either have a religious and jurisprudential origin or a legal origin. In a religious government, cases that are converted into laws with a religious approach must have comprehensiveness in order to prevent problems. This issue must also be examined from the perspectives of the religious system and the political system of the country.

Rulers and agents of religious governments should pay attention to the fact that the well-being of the people should be their first priority. From a legal perspective, implementing matters with a legal basis should not only create hatred in society, but should also be in line with three essential elements: improving the quality of life, promoting justice, and expanding morality. If this is not the case, it will lead to hatred in society.

In the issue of hijab or economic matters and others, all jurists or individuals who have theorized in related areas of religious or non-religious government, unanimously believe in this serious discourse that the system of people’s lives must be preserved. In fact, preserving people’s lives and livelihood is sometimes interpreted as preserving the system. In fact, no action should be taken that disrupts the order and growth of people’s lives.

Our intellect and religion have obligated us to preserve the system of people’s lives, and even scholars believe that in order to protect and implement some religious matters, the system of people’s lives or their livelihood should not be harmed.

These actions harm employment, make citizens worried, dissatisfied and confused, and the cost of solving social and cultural problems of the country falls on the shoulders of the sick economy and the burden of people’s lives. Continuing this approach, whose achievements are unknown and its harms are evident, is not in the best interest of the country.

In difficult economic conditions, production and service units face various problems such as lack of capital, shortage of foreign currency, decrease in demand, etc. The continuation of production is at risk by shutting them down, which angers multiple stakeholders.

Expanding private sector activities requires investment security. If you throw a stone to drive away one sparrow, know that other sparrows will also flee.

Individuals who cause disruption in people’s lives in economic, educational, or security sectors through indefensible behaviors are not acceptable. If law enforcement officials enforce a behavior in the name of the law that tarnishes the system of people’s lives or damages the honor of the political system in the eyes of the people, it is not acceptable; because preserving the honor of a country and its political system is first and foremost the responsibility of the rulers, and if their behavior causes people to be pessimistic about the political system, they must correct it and repair its negative consequences. According to religious and rational rules, this issue is completely clear.

Given the economic situation of the country and the existing inflation recession in Iran, which direction will the activities of startups and online businesses, which are currently also affected by recession, go?

The startup scene in Iran has been faced with closures and suspensions due to what has been called the “unveiling of the hijab”; an event that was initiated by the attack of media outlets supporting certain political movements and resulted in the shutdown and suspension of online businesses and platforms that are a part of Iran’s economic structure.

The topic of “sealing” businesses due to the discovery of a new hijab is not new. However, in the past month, it has never reached such dimensions and in the middle of summer 1402, online platforms have faced major troubles. After the sealing of many commercial units, shopping malls, and shopping centers – even the “Pedestrian Bridge” or “Amiri House” and “French Pastry” in Tehran – now the new event is “sealing startups” which has intensified even more.

A large portion of these startups are operated by young forces and actually help facilitate business activities. For example, the startup “Taqcheh” which operates in the field of electronic books – or PDFs – was faced with a high attack by some users belonging to a specific spectrum on Twitter last Wednesday. Many publishers known as “Arzeshi” have cut ties with the startup after publishing a photo of the interior space, and news agencies have announced that a legal case has been filed against “Taqcheh” due to the “discovery of the veil” of its employees.

The platform is a marketplace for accessing various types of audio, electronic, and print books that operates within the framework of the country’s laws, like any other business. This company has strived for about a decade to make all types of books available to its audience, catering to all tastes. The fact that the platform has played a significant role in increasing the country’s reading rate is due to the relentless efforts of its capable colleagues.

But perhaps the hardest encounter with apps and online businesses is related to the startup “Azki”. Last month, the deputy of the central insurance announced the suspension of the insurance brokerage license for the startup “Azki”, which operates in the field of online sales of various insurance policies, by a committee called “Hijab and Chastity” in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.

Despite social laws and regulations such as the Islamic Penal Code and the Protection of Prominent Figures Act passed in 2015, what is the justification for new laws and will the implementation of such punishments lead to improvement of the situation and adherence to regulations by citizens? Overall, how effective do you think these designated punishments are?

After the internal unrest in Iran, social values have become very different. The previously prevalent discussions about certain social values in society have now become scarce, and issues such as hijab have shifted from a universal value to a personal one. Each individual has the right to their own beliefs in this matter. In this situation, it is not expected for businesses and service centers such as restaurants, pharmacies, and public places to enforce hijab on individuals they interact with.

Enforcing businesses to comply with these conditions essentially goes against social norms and implies that the government is emphasizing an issue and instead of taking action themselves, they are forcing people to confront each other. In fact, a type of social conflict based on businesses and people is created in society. Officials must understand that there is a gap between promoted social values and the values that are agreed upon and customary among the people.

Any kind of action by policymakers and officials in this field can have a reverse result. Today, we see places that are closed due to dealing with the issue of covering, but as soon as they reopen, they are faced with a greater reception from the people in order to compensate for the losses that the mentioned business has suffered. Therefore, it is not possible to deal with such issues in a dictatorial manner and in a top-down approach, as they are accepted by the customary moral system.

This issue is very serious. Can we prevent the change of the value system in this intense process of globalization? Therefore, any policy-making and its implementation should be completely based on the realities of society and sometimes based on a systematic understanding of societal changes.

General disgust with deliberate injection and prescription in the field of individual selection has spread, in fact the output of these pressures is nothing but the loss of social trust and the loss of institutional trust in the current cultural and social system.

Any policy in this area has a reverse effect on the level of acceptance and reading of the people towards this issue, and even the sense of systemic alienation in terms of citizenship, national belonging, social belonging to the community, and the self-perception of the ruling agents is strongly highlighted by the society. The Iranian society is not one that can be forced to accept something. One hundred years of experience in political, social, and cultural activism of the Iranian society has not burdened it in a way that an issue, even if imposed by the government or law, can be imposed on it.

Thank you for the opportunity you have given us.