The marathon took place on Kish Island off the southern coast of Iran and around 2,000 women and 3,000 men competed in the race separately.
The Iranian judiciary on Saturday ordered the arrest of organisers of a marathon who allowed women to compete who were not wearing hijab, BBC reported. The action came after photos of women not wearing the veil appeared online as they competed in the race on Friday.
The marathon took place on Kish Island off the southern coast of Iran and around 2,000 women and 3,000 men competed in the race separately. A BBC report stated that women were wearing red t-shirts but some of them were not wearing hijab or any other covering on the head.
“Two of the main organisers of the competition were arrested on warrants. One of those arrested is an official in the Kish free zone, and the other works for the private company that organised the race,” Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported on Saturday.
The incident received mixed reactions in Iran as many supporters who advocate for a change in the Islamic country hailed the images as evidence that Iranian women are rejecting the restriction imposed by the administration on what they can wear. Iranian officials called it an unacceptable challenge to the status quo.
The prosecutor in Kish argued that the manner in which the marathon was being conducted was in itself a “violation of public decency”.
“Despite previous warnings regarding the need to comply with the country’s current laws and regulations, as well as religious, customary, and professional principles … the event was held in a way that violated public decency,” the local prosecutor said, France24 reported.
A mass protest erupted in Iran three years ago when a Kurdish Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, died in custody after being detained for alleged breach of dress code. The violent protests were quelled by the Islamic country through force and hence some of the women still continue to defy the dress rules.
