US Urges Meat Companies To Ensure They Don't Use Child Labor

The Biden administration is urging U.S. meat processors to make sure children aren't being illegally hired to perform dangerous jobs at their plants.

AP
UPDATED: 13 APR 2023 


The Biden administration is urging U.S. meat processors to make sure children aren't being illegally hired to perform dangerous jobs at their plants.

The call comes after an investigation found more than 100 kids working overnight for a company that cleans slaughterhouses, handling dangerous equipment like skull splitters and razor-sharp bone saws.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter Wednesday to the 18 largest meat and poultry producers urging them to examine the hiring practices at their companies and suppliers. The letter is part of a broader effort by the administration to crack down on the use of child labor. The Labor Department has reported a 69% increase since 2018 in the number of children being employed illegally in the U.S.

"The use of illegal child labor — particularly requiring that children undertake dangerous tasks — is inexcusable, and companies must consider both their legal and moral responsibilities to ensure they and their suppliers, subcontractors, and vendors fully comply with child labor laws," Vilsack said in the letter.

Just last year, the Labor Department found that more than 3,800 children had been working illegally at 835 companies in various industries. In the most egregious recent case, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, agreed earlier this year to pay a $1.5 million fine and reform its hiring practices after investigators confirmed that at least 102 kids were working for the company at 13 meat processing plants nationwide.

PSSI, which is based in Wisconsin, employs about 17,000 people working at more than 700 locations, making it one of the largest food-processing-plant cleaning companies. The plants where PSSI was found to be employing minors were in Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Texas.

The Labor Department says it has more than 600 child labor investigations underway and officials are concerned about the exploitation of children, particularly migrants who may not even have a parent in the United States.

Several federal agencies launched a broad effort to combat child labor earlier this year, and officials asked Congress to increase the penalty for violations because the current maximum fine of $15,138 per child isn't enough of a deterrent to big companies.

One major meat producer, Smithfield Foods, said Wednesday it was not aware of any violations at its facilities. “Smithfield Foods and all of its affiliates comply with all child labor laws, both federal and state,” the company said. “We require all of our contractors to do so as well.”

Trans ex-lawmaker to contest Venezuela opposition primaries

By AFP
Published April 13, 2023

Tamara Adrian, pictured in 2016, was Venezuela's first trans legislator when elected to Congress in 2015 - Copyright AFP Damien MEYER

A transgender former legislator and LGBTQ activist, Tamara Adrian, announced her candidacy Thursday in Venezuela’s opposition primaries that will determine who challenges President Nicolas Maduro in next year’s election.

In 2016, Adrian became the first transgender legislator in the conservative South American country.

The 69-year-old university professor has received backing from the United for Dignity association that last year began the long process of becoming a political party.

“It is a comprehensive plan so that no one is left behind,” said Adrian, whose program is based on attracting foreign investment and improving public services.

Adrian, who identifies as a transgender woman, said she wants to “break down barriers that society has imposed on certain people to incorporate them in an effective way in economic development.”

She has also accused the state of “homophobia through action” and “omission.”

While a legislator from 2015 to 2021, Adrian unsuccessfully attempted to promote a law against discrimination and in favor of community rights.

Venezuela lags behind other Latin American countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and Chile in these issues.

Both the ruling party and the opposition in Venezuela are socially conservative.

Opposition primaries are due to take place on October 22.

Adrian will be up against some opposition heavyweights.

Juan Guaido, who came to prominence in 2019 when he declared himself acting president in a challenge to Maduro’s authority, will be on the ballot.

So too will Henrique Capriles, who contested the 2013 election against Maduro and the 2012 vote against the late Hugo Chavez.

UK economy unexpectedly stalls on pay strikes

By AFP
Published April 13, 2023

UK public-sector strikes offset good performances in the construction and retail sectors in February - Copyright AFP STR

The UK economy unexpectedly stalled in February with the country facing more strikes as a cost-of-living crisis erodes the value of wages, official data showed Thursday.

The zero-growth performance followed a 0.4-percent expansion in January, the Office for National Statistics said, while the latest reading was worse than analyst expectations.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said public-sector strikes including by teachers hit output, while “unseasonably mild weather led to falls in the use of electricity and gas”.

However, construction picked up after a “poor” January and retail won a boost as many shops had a “buoyant month”, he added.

Britain’s economy had rebounded in January after narrowly avoiding recession in the last three months of 2022.

The government and Bank of England say they expect the country to dodge a recession this year despite the cost-of-living crisis as UK inflation remains above 10 percent.

The average employee at Amazon needs six millennia to earn what CEO Jassy earns in one year


By Dr. Tim Sandle

Published

April 13, 2023

Offices in London. Image by © Tim Sandle

With wage gaps between the rich and poor becoming ever more apparent worldwide, it is a symptom of the economic system that drives some business owners to consider widening the ratio between the pay of the ‘top dogs’ and the ‘worker bees’.

How much should a CEO earn in comparison to their employees? Why do some CEOs take home such massive salaries while their employees face financial difficulties? And which businesses have the greatest pay gap between CEOs and employees? These are not easy questions to answer and any answer will depend upon the economic model subscribed to.

To explore this topic, the firm Switch On Business analysed the difference in wages between CEOs and employees in some of the U.S.’s largest businesses. This produced one startling statistic: It would take the average employee at Amazon over six millennia to earn what Andrew Jassy earns in 1 year. Moreover, Jassy’s yearly salary could pay medical insurance for 19,806 people in the U.S.

Such is the extent of the disparity between executives and their workers that Airbnb was found to be the only company with a 1:1 pay ratio. Here the CEO earns $202,541 per year and workers $16,878 monthly.

Amazon has the biggest annual salary disparity between the CEO and average employees. In 2021, Amazon’s CEO Andrew Jassy took home an annual salary of $212,701,169 while the average employee was paid $32,855. This is a pay ratio of 6474:1.

McDonald’s has the second largest pay gap, with employees needing just over 2,251 years to earn what CEO Christopher Kempczinski does in just one year. This is followed by TJX companies where it would take the average worker over 2,249 years to match the CEO’s annual pay, and Oracle where it would take more than 1,841 years.

The table below shows the top five companies where it would take median pay earners the longest time to earn what their CEO makes in just one year:

Company Average annual employee salary Average annual CEO salary Pay ratio 

Company	Average annual employee salary	Average annual CEO salary	Pay ratio	How many years of annual median pay to reach CEO annual pay
1	Amazon	$32,855	$212,701,169	6,474:1	6473.9
2	McDonald	$8,897	$20,028,132	2,251:1	2251.1
3	TJX Companies	$14,139	$31,802,000	2,249:1	2249.2
4	Oracle	$75,043	$138,192,032	1,842:1	1841.5
5	Coca-Cola	$13,894	$24,883,878	1,791:1	1791.0

How many years of annual median pay to reach CEO annual pay


In terms of which CEOs earn the equivalent of a median worker’s annual pay in the shortest amount of time, it is no surprise, based on the above, to learn that Amazon’s CEO Andrew Jassy tops the list, earning the average Amazon employee’s annual salary in as little as one hour and 18 minutes.

In response to the Switch On Business report, an Amazon spokesperson has told Digital Journal: “In accordance with SEC rules, Andy’s reported compensation for 2021 included the full value of an RSU award of 61,000 shares (pre- stock split), despite the fact that the award was designed to vest over 10 years starting in 2023, with the majority scheduled to vest between 2026-2031. A more accurate calculation of his 2021 compensation includes $43.4M in shares vested in 2021, a salary of $175,000, and security/401K contribution of $593,000.”

McDonald’s CEO Christopher Kempczinski and TJX CEO Ernie Herrman follow, both earning the average worker’s yearly salary in just under four hours.
Rank

Company Medical cost Employee VS CEO
Medical cost ratio based on average of $10,739 Percentage of CEO’s annual salary How many people the CEO could pay annual medical cost for

Rank	Company	Medical cost	Employee VS CEO
Medical cost ratio based on average of $10,739	Percentage of CEO’s annual salary	How many people the CEO could pay annual medical cost for
1	Amazon	3.05940962845703:1	32.69%	19,806
2	Intel	9.72157556569513:1	10.29%	16,630
3	ServiceNow	21.7766086227768:1	4.59%	15,439
4	Oracle	6.98789458981283:1	14.31%	12,868
5	Apple	6.35571282242295:1	15.73%	9,194

The above data demonstrates the persistent, indeed deepening, income inequality among the biggest U.S. companies and their workforces.

Rodents force shutdown of Canadian PM's official residence, estimated repair cost C$ 36 mn

As per the Canadian government, the condition of the prime minister's official residence is up in the air with water pipes that are rusted, electrical wiring that is aged and the property nearing a "catastrophic collapse".


India Today World Desk
New Delhi,

UPDATED: Apr 13, 2023 

Official residence of Canadian prime minister 24 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario. (Image: pc.gc.ca)

 The official residence of the Canadian prime minister was forced to shut down in 2022 after rodents, especially dead mice, caused a menace on the premises. The house has been vacant since 2015 and, as per the local government, the restoration work would not be an inexpensive affair.

Contrary to the popular belief that political leaders reside in some of the world's most iconic properties, including the White House or the 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the fate of the Canadian PM's official house located at 24 Sussex Drive has fallen prey to rodent infestation.

The property has been home to Canada's prime ministers for more than 70 years and, in fact, has welcomed personalities like John F Kennedy, Princess Diana, Mikhail Gorbachev. But the house, at present, is empty with dead mice on the inner walls, etc.

In an official statement, the Canadian government deemed the menace building's "mouse issue which caused additional problems".

As per Canada's federal agency that manages the property, the National Capital Commission (NCC), the condition of the house is up in the air with water pipes that are rusted, electrical wiring that is aged and the property nearing a "catastrophic collapse". The house further lacks central air conditioning.

The estimated cost to fix the property currently stands at more than C$ 36 million.

The latest issue is an "important rodent infestation... that leaves us with excrements and carcasses between the walls and in attic and basement spaces," as per the NCC, that also has the authority to order shut down of Canadian government properties.

The condition of the house is said to be bad to the extent of "concerns with air quality" for breathing, with interior walls of the property containing harmful asbestos, which cannot be fixed until a remediation strategy is in place. Meanwhile, the authorities stated they have been resorting to the bait method to control the situation.

As per a report in The Guardian, the Canadian government's documents highlighted the cause of the menace as decades of mismanagement. Also, the condition of the house is considered a fire hazard too.

--- ENDS ---

Lost pet dog takes 241 km trek, crosses frozen sea ice for a safe home return

The dog's owners were visiting Savoonga in the Bering Strait in March when Nanuq disappeared along with their other pet dog, Starlight. Starlight turned up after a few weeks but Nanuq was nowhere to be found.

New Delhi,

UPDATED: Apr 13, 2023 
By India Today World Desk: 

1-year-old Australian shepherd was wound up walking on Bering Sea ice. (Image: AP)

A one-year-old Australian shepherd went missing from the house of its owners in Alaska's Gambell before it returned after over a month, but with wounds from being bitten by a seal or polar bear. Though the dog, Nanuq, returned to his home in Alaska, the pet dog took an epic trek across 241 km of frozen Bering Sea ice. The pet dog was retrieved with the aid of social media when locals in the northeast of Savoonga on Alaska's western coast began to upload pictures of the dog.

As per reports, the dog's owners were visiting Savoonga in the Bering Strait in March when Nanuq disappeared along with their other pet dog, Starlight. Starlight turned up after a few weeks but Nanuq was nowhere to be found.

Its owners made guesses about how it would have survived the journey but didn't forget to term it a "smart" dog.

"I am pretty sure he ate leftovers of seal or caught a seal. Probably birds, too. He's smart," the owner of the dog was quoted as saying by news agency AP.

The owners recalled how they located Nanuq on Facebook when the father of Iworrigan, who is the dog's owner, showed him a picture on the social media platform.

"I was like 'no freaking way!' That's our dog! What is he doing in Wales?" Iworrigan told AP.

"I have no idea why he ended up in Wales. Maybe the ice shifted while he was hunting," Iworrigan said. She further mentioned that Nanuq was brought back to Gambell on a regional air carrier which was transporting athletes for the Bering Strait School District's Native Youth Olympics tournament.

Though Nanuq's expedition will always remain a mystery, the marks and wounds on its body compelled the owners to conclude that he would be "hunting". Except for a swollen leg and a few bite marks, Nanuq's health was alright.

Ukraine farmer risks life clearing shells from fields


By

AFP
Published  April 13, 2023

In Ukraine's Mykolaiv region, although demining teams are out in force some farmers are taking clearance into their own hands 

- Copyright AFP Philip FONG

Anna MALPAS

His fields peppered with Russian shells, Ukrainian farmer Vitaliy Sydor has resorted to desperate measures to clear explosives from the land himself so he can plant crops.

“I bought metal detectors and had a bit of a look on the Internet,” said Sydor, 28. He had no protective equipment, he admitted, and relies on a friend with army experience.

His village, Novogrygorivka, in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region, was within sight of the Russian front line and heavily bombarded from March to November last year until the Russians retreated.

The landscape is littered with splintered trees, shattered houses and burnt-out vehicles.

“Wherever you look there are holes,” said Sydor, indicating the shattered outbuildings and machinery.

The house built by his father and grandfather is just a heap of rubble.

With some of Ukraine’s best agricultural land, this region is crucial to the harvest, and farmers need to earn money after losing last year’s crops.

International demining organisations and military and police sappers are out in force, but the area is vast and some farmers, needing to recoup huge losses, are taking clearance into their own hands.

“You can wait a long time. No one knows when they will come and demine everything,” said Sydor, adding that he exchanges information online with other farmers on finding munitions.

An estimated half of Mykolaiv region’s agricultural land will go unused this year “due to contamination or fear of contamination”, said Jasmine Dann, regional operations manager for The HALO Trust, which is working in the region.

But Sydor’s do-it-yourself approach carries “very big risks”, she said.

“There is not only the risk that something will be missed but also that the mines might be booby trapped,” she warned.

“Other explosives can be very unstable and explode if tampered with.”

– ‘It was scary’ –

Anti-vehicle and -personnel landmines were planted in some areas in the Mykolaiv region, but there is also a huge amount of unexploded ordnance on the surface.

“The fields are all covered in shells, detonated and not yet detonated,” Sydor said, digging up shrapnel with his boot.

He and his workers used ropes to test if a shell had exploded, he said.

“Just in case, we take a long rope, lie down and pull the projectile — if it fires, it fires. If not, then you’re lucky.”

Most dangerous are the anti-personnel mines, with their plastic casings and fuses, he added.

“Everyone is afraid of the plastic ones, because the metal detector just doesn’t pick them up.”

On the small farm he runs with his parents, they have already sown around 100 hectares with spring barley.

“Of course it was scary. This was the first field we went over ourselves, demined ourselves,” Sydor said, pointing to the green blades.

“There are mines on small parachutes, mines on cables — we found these in two places, exploded,” he added.

“There are huge amounts of pieces of rockets. Sometimes even a tractor cannot pull out a rocket, it’s gone so deep into the earth.”

Inside the field, there is a very deep hole surrounded with red-and-white flags, where Sydor thinks there may be an unexploded shell.

– ‘Slow and methodical’ –

The HALO Trust — which famously had Princess Diana walk through a minefield — is clearing a large field with a rusty hulk in the centre, near the village of Yevgenivka, an area occupied by the Russians.

A Ukrainian helicopter in March 2022 fired on a truck in the field carrying Russian ammunition.

Explosives including rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, flew out over 100 metres in every direction, some exploding, some not.

Two teams slowly walked across the field in formation, swinging detectors and going over every section twice.

This is termed a “battle area clearance task”, Dann said.

The land is rented by a large agrifirm, which hopes to plant coriander, flax, millet and sunflowers this year.

“We’re like ants. They destroy us and we build everything back,” said the firm’s director, Vadym Belyk.

The HALO Trust gives a guarantee that after its work, people can use the area freely.

This way is “slow, methodical”, said Dann.

“We’ll find everything possible.”

Ukraine currently does not permit NGOs to use explosives to destroy munitions in situ. That slows down the process, since HALO must call in army help.

Dann acknowledged that the farmers were impatient to sow.

“For us now agricultural land is the number one priority,” she said.

“You spoke to the farmer here: he’s going to use this land right now.”

Sydor said he was happy with his spring barley and hoped to sow sunflowers soon.

“In 10 days or so you won’t be able to see the earth, it will be covered in green.”

Germany revamps cannabis plan after opposition


By AFP
Published April 12, 2023


Legalisation of cannabis was one of the flagship policies agreed by Germany's coalition partners when they formed a governent in late 2021 - 

Copyright SPUTNIK/AFP Pavel Byrkin

Germany has scrapped plans to allow the widespread sale of cannabis in licensed stores for the time being following EU concerns, the government said Wednesday.

Berlin had announced in October proposals to introduce some of Europe’s most liberal cannabis laws.

But on Wednesday the coalition government unveiled a watered-down, two-stage plan that would still allow adults to possess cannabis in small amounts but not its sale in stores nationwide.

While the details may have changed, the “original goals” have not, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told a press conference, listing them as “safer consumption, tackling the black market, protecting young people”.

The first stage of the new plan would permit the establishment of “cannabis clubs”, non-profit groups of up to 500 members allowed to cultivate the drug for personal use.

Members will be allowed to possess up to 25 grams (0.9 ounces) of cannabis and grow up to three plants each.

Minors will still be prohibited from consuming the drug.

A draft bill related to the cannabis clubs should be ready later this month before being presented the cabinet and MPs for approval.

“Consumption will still become legal this year,” Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir told the press conference.

A second stage would involve testing — in regions yet to be chosen, over a five-year period — the production and sale of cannabis in specialised stores under government licence.

Widespread sale of the drug across the country, as envisaged in the original plan, was not possible under European law.

The pilot project could serve as a model at the European level and lead to a change in the law, said Lauterbach, adding that he had had encouraging discussions with other countries on the subject.

Legalisation of cannabis was one of the flagship policies agreed by Germany’s coalition partners — the Social Democrats, Greens and the liberal FDP — when they formed a government in late 2021.

– ‘Wrong track’ –

Wednesday’s announcement drew sharp criticism from the opposition.

The government is “fundamentally on the wrong track,” tweeted Markus Soeder, leader of the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of the main opposition CDU.

“Drug legalisation is simply the wrong way to go. Karl Lauterbach, as minister of health, seriously proposes the establishment of drug clubs. This does not solve problems, but creates new ones.”

The GdP police union also said it did not believe the plans would do much to curb the illegal cannabis trade, the group’s deputy chairman Alexander Poitz told the RND media group.

Eggs off some menus in Japan as country hit by bird flu and egg shortage

28 restaurant giants have decided to suspend egg dishes including chawanmushi, pancakes and Chinese food.

 PHOTO: REUTERS

Amanda Lee
Correspondent
UPDATED
APR 13, 2023, 1:58 P.M. SGT

Looking for chawanmushi and tamagoyaki when in Japan? You may be disappointed.

Diners at some restaurants in Japan may not be able to order their favourite dishes that contain eggs due to an egg shortage, as the country battles with its worst outbreak of avian influenza.

About 30 per cent of 100 listed companies in Japan’s restaurant industry have suspended parts of their menu that use eggs from 2023, according to a survey by credit research firm Teikoku Databank on April 6.

Quoting the survey, Mainichi Shimbun daily reported that as at April 5, 28 restaurant giants have decided to suspend egg dishes including chawanmushi (a savoury steamed egg custard), pancakes and Chinese food.

The number of restaurant giants which have suspended eggs from their menus has increased by 10 from March, said the report.

Without stating specific restaurants, the report said that the main reasons for suspending the use of eggs were due to “soaring prices” and a “severe egg shortage”.

In the first three months of 2023, some big names in the food industry have taken steps to combat the egg shortage situation in Japan.

Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is an infectious disease that affects wild birds and poultry that has been around for a century.

The avian influenza outbreak has resulted in Japan culling more than 17 million, or about 9 per cent, of egg-laying hens since the bird flu season began in the country in October 2022.

In January, Seven & i Holdings’ 7-Eleven chain, one of the many chain convenience stores across Japan, suspended the sale of some egg products. Other measures included using vegetables instead of eggs in its tuna sandwiches.

Then in February, Japanese casual restaurant chain operator Skylark Holdings began suspending sales of some menu items that use eggs, including the fried egg topping at its steak restaurants and fried rice at its Chinese food restaurant chain.

In March, McDonald’s Japan said it may have to suspend the sale of its popular Teritama burgers – comprising teriyaki patty and egg – during peak periods.

Although McDonald’s has managed to diversify its egg sources to not impact its regular offerings, the fast food chain spokesman Jonathan Kushner told the BBC that it was “watching the situation carefully”.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Bird flu is so bad that Japan is running out of land to bury chickens

Hold the mayo as Japan egg shortage hits McDonald’s, 7-Eleven

The issue is simply that supply in the country is unstable, said the report.

“It is hard to predict what the situation will be like in the summer and the fall (autumn),” Mr Kushner said.

Others like seafood giant Nissui Corporation makes a tamagoyaki – a Japanese rolled omelette – from Alaskan pollack, reported the BBC.

The product, which has been on its shelves since the second half of 2022, is developed to meet the needs of consumers with egg allergies.

Mr Tetsuya Lida, the company’s spokesman, told the BBC that the product had never been a “big-selling product”.

However, the company has seen a fivefold increase in supermarket shipments in 2023.

The bird flu crisis and egg shortage situation have also sent egg prices soaring.

The BBC reported on Thursday that wholesale egg prices in Japan have spiked more than 70 per cent in the past year according to data from one local egg seller.

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Bird flu found in fox in Japan's first mammal infection

Wave of bird flu in Asia, Europe has greater risk of spreading to humans: Official

For example, a kilogram of medium-size eggs now costs about 350 yen (S$3.50), said JA. Z-Tamago, a unit of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations, in the BBC report.

Japanese condiment-maker Kewpie, which uses eggs as a key ingredient in its products, is raising prices by up to 21 per cent from April.

Japan is not the only country grappling with the bird flu crisis and it is also hitting countries such as the United States and Europe.

AUTHORITARIANISM REQUIRES SEXUAL REPRESSION

Compulsive chastity in Iran: the citizen is a policeman and the authority incites the prohibition of vice

Karim Shafik - Egyptian journalist
11.04.2023

 Daraj 

The return of societal, parliamentary and political debates about the hijab, and the insistence of fundamentalist forces and the strong conservatism of its imposition, led the regime to promote a double and opportunistic discourse.

In conjunction with the Iranian regime's frantic moves to confront the rebellion against forced hijab, after an evasive period of calm following the growing protests that followed the killing of the Iranian Kurdish girl, Mahsa Amini, by the "morality police" patrol, repeated incidents of assault on girls, and violent crackdowns on shops and places that do not impose strict religious restrictions on women.

The growing incidents of assault were carried out by citizens without authority or powers, the latest of which was the brutal attack on a girl and her mother inside a market for not adhering to the compulsory hijab. This can be attributed to hostile religious propaganda promoted by clerics, societal mobilization against girls and women, and incitement to oppression, turning the citizen into a potential policeman to impose coercive chastity.

The return of societal, parliamentary and political debates about the hijab, and the insistence of fundamentalist forces and the strong conservatism of its imposition, led the regime to promote a double and opportunistic discourse.

The hijab is once seen as a legal issue that must be adhered to to achieve controls within any "legitimate society," in the words of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in a deliberate confusion between "legitimacy" in its legal and constitutional sense, and "Sharia" in its religious sense, in disregard of the human rights disparity between them. Other times as a religious obligation, this radical discourse is promoted by the religious elite while softening any political pragmatism.

Fundamentalists in parliament pass the legislative structure that helps empower them politically, while representatives of the Wali al-Faqih in Iran's provinces and cities work to "whitewash" radical concepts and values through their societal incubators, through religious policies initiated by the head of the Planning Council for Friday Imams, Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari.

Ali Akbari recently sent a "secret, detailed, and critical message" to the Iranian president, in which Friday imams demanded that the hijab be controlled, and launched an attack on the "enemy" who aims to transform the hijab from a cultural issue to societal polarization, and then a political challenge, to dismantle and collapse what he described as the "revolutionary front."

The latest incident will not be the end of the end as Iranian women renounce the forced hijab law, but events pave the way for a worse scenario, likely to be "the confrontation has just begun."

The citizen is free from vice

There are solid blocs among the conservative forces in Iran, lined up in the face of those who are out of obedience to the "guardian of the jurist", especially since the feminist movement managed to squander the capital of the symbolic regime, demanding a break with its guardianship policies, and out of the circle of submission in an effort to end authoritarian control.

The failure of the Iranian authority to achieve practical results using traditional repressive policies is accompanied by a new approach that seeks to mobilize societal forces to clash with opponents of the mullahs' policies. This was evident in the hidden support that provides protection to these "new Mutawa'a", the Interior Ministry's statement said after the recent incident, which affirmed "the support of (the ministry) for all those who command virtue and those who forbid vice."

"The judiciary, officers (police) and other relevant agencies will confront the few violators of sanctities and will not allow attacks on the sacred identity of Iranian Muslim women," the interior ministry statement said, adding that videos documented cases of violence in which these "citizens who command virtue and forbid vice" targeted unveiled women.

Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of Iran's Kayhan newspaper, which is close to the office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, criticized the Interior Ministry's statement as "late" and "ambiguous." He also hinted at collusion or hypocrisy, the circumstances and dimensions of which he did not disclose, by the Ministry of Interior towards this case, describingthe ministry's position as "two-faced."

"As several months pass since the brazen phenomenon of taking off the hijab, the question is whether this delay (the issuance of the Interior Ministry statement) has acceptable reasons," Shariatmadari said.

"The issue of the hijab has turned in recent years into one of the axes of the enemy's cognitive war against the people," the Interior Ministry statement said, pointing out that anti-hijab campaigns, including "White Wednesday", "Girls of Enghelab Street" or "No to the compulsory hijab", "failed and have never been able to undermine the will and determination of Iranian women and girls to preserve their Islamic identity".

It seems that the supervisory mechanisms and strict legal provisions in Iran to legitimize violence against girls rebelling against the hijab, by the parliament and the government, do not seem sufficient in the face of the growing protests since September 2022, in addition to the spread of the phenomenon of girls going out without the hijab, in practice, which surprised the government during the recent holidays, specifically Nowruz. Thus, the regime seeks societal mobilization to create a soft ground around the protests and weaken their continuation.

The brutal attack on a girl and her mother in the city of "Mashhad", which was carried out by a man who entered into a violent contact with them, ended with throwing their heads with a milk can, and then an arrest warrant was issued against the three parties, which is not the first of its kind, but coincides with direct and continuous incitement by state institutions and agencies. Especially the Iranian judiciary, which stressed the need to prosecute women who oppose the obligation to wear headscarves and prosecute them "without mercy."

The Return of Iran's Hijab Crisis: The Opportunism of the "Ayatollahs" and the Misery of Ideology

The uprising of Iranian women and the question of the suspicious veil

The beginning of the confrontation

Iranian journalist Daoud Heshmati writes that the latest incident will not be the end of the day as Iranian women renounce the compulsory hijab law, but rather that events pave the way for a worse scenario, likely to be "the confrontation has just begun."

The head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ajei, threatened to prosecute non-veiled women "without mercy or compassion for them," and considered this behavior as "hostility to our values" in the "Islamic Republic," and continued: "If the violations are arrested, the judiciary will decide on the matter, and will prosecute everyone who has a role in these cases, from a causative to a collaborator and accomplice." "Taking off the hijab contradicts public chastity and the principles of Sharia and law," he said, adding that "the enemy supports taking off the hijab" in Iran.

The opinion of the Iranian president is hardly different from what the head of the judiciary said, as Raisi stressed that the hijab is "a religious necessity and a divine and Quranic command," noting that "it is a legal obligation and following the law is agreed upon by all," stressing that "everyone must abide by the hijab and chastity." "Our daughters and women, once again, by adhering to the hijab will show their commitment to the law and religious necessities."

The deputy head of the cultural body in the conservative Iranian parliament, Bijan Nobawah, stressed the need to deal with the issue of the hijab with "firmness", "comprehensive approach" and "decisive", taking into account that there are about 32 parties responsible for the issue of "chastity and hijab", all of whom have failed to achieve positive results.

"The person who commits this mistake is necessary and knows that the entire system is watching him and will punish him," the MP said, pointing out that if "the removal of the hijab and the adoption of emotional behavior are not comprehensively and resolutely confronted, the violators of sanctity will exceed this limit, and then we will witness more nudity and violation of sanctities."

The Iranian leader accused the "enemies", as he described it, of being behind the spread of the phenomenon of non-hijab, and said that "the enemy is working according to a plan and we have to confront this in a calculated and programmed manner. Taking off the hijab is forbidden legally and politically."

He continued: "Many of those who take off the hijab if they knew what is the policy behind this act of what they did," considering that the protests erupted after the killing of Mahsa Amini "conspiracies by enemies," accusing them of "exploiting the issue of women to provoke chaos and affliction. Some at home were deceived, obeying the external enemy and traitors living abroad and raising the slogan of women's freedom."
Warning with the tongue is everyone's responsibility

As a result, the regime's new and radical turn towards the imposition of the hijab investigates many means of coercion, legal, or mobilization, by managing violence by mobilizing members of society as "lone wolves" and cells working for the regime, which operates with the mentality of far-right organizations.

In addition to the Iranian regime's efforts, other pressures it exerts on the people include the rejection of citizenship rights, which occurred in the announcement of the ban on providing services to non-veiled women, and publications with the same content also spread in schools, universities, hospitals and means of transportation. According to the Tehran metro operator, a warning plan was launched under the title: "Warning with the tongue is everyone's responsibility," as well as the formation of "chastity and hijab" headquarters in the metro.

A statement issued by Iran's Ministry of Education earlier this month stipulated that educational services be provided only to female students who wear the hijab. The ministry will refuse to "provide educational services to a limited number of female students who do not abide by the rules and regulations of dress codes in schools." With the start of the new Iranian year, the president of the Free Islamic University of Iran, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranji, in an official statement, asked to confront what he considered "violating behaviors, including taking off the hijab" inside the university, and said that "this is the demand of the majority of students."