According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, police issued the first warning to Turkish Airlines employees for 'not wearing the hijab', but the employees allegedly 'created difficulties for police officers', leading to the office being closed.
Women line up to vote in the presidential election at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, on July 5, 2024.
 |
| Refusal to wear hijab Turkish Airlines office in Tehran closed |
Police in Iran shut down the office of Turkish Airlines in the capital Tehran after female employees there allegedly refused to wear hijabs in violation of the country's law.
Police officers went to the office of Turkish Airlines in Tehran on Monday and issued the first warning to the company's employees "not to wear the hijab," the Associated Press reported, citing Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.
However, the employees, who are Iranian nationals, allegedly 'created difficulties for police officers' which led to the closure of the office.
The Tasneem report said that the police sealed the office due to the behavior of the employees.
According to reports, the Turkish Airlines office will be allowed to reopen and operate as normal on Wednesday, but police have not confirmed this.
There was no immediate comment from Turkish Airlines on the incident in Tehran.
In September 2022, after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, Iran began mass protests against the hijab law.
While those protests have largely died down, the choice by some Iranian women to take to the streets without the hijab poses a new challenge for the government.
Iranian authorities have closed hundreds of businesses across the country over the years, from shops, restaurants to pharmacies and offices, because they quietly allowed their female employees not to wear the hijab.
Enforcement was tightened in the months leading up to Iran's recent presidential election. The election was held early last week following the death of former president Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, which resulted in the election of reformist Saeed Al-Mabikian as the new president.
Protesters demonstrate against the Iranian government on October 1, 2022 in
Manhattan, New York, after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in September 2022 for allegedly violating the hijab laws in Iran.
 |
| Refusal to wear hijab Turkish Airlines office in Tehran closed |
The commotion at Turkish Airlines' Tehran office took place on the same day that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telephoned Iran's newly elected president, Masoud Al-Badeshkian, to congratulate him on his victory in the presidential election.
The al-Badzikyan, who defeated Saeed Jalili in the elections, promised to negotiate with Western countries and facilitate the implementation of the mandatory hijab law.
Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted Tehran's prosecutor Ali Salehi as saying that no legal action or decision has been issued regarding the sealing of the office of Turkish Airlines in Tehran.
Iran and Turkey have good relations and in 2023 the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries was 5.4 billion dollars.
Turkish Airlines is a favorite airline among Iranians due to its shorter travel time to the US and Canada compared to other long-haul flights from the Gulf Arab countries.
0 Comments