Iran Bars Pharmaceutical CEO From Meeting For 'Violating' Hijab
Iran's ministry of health denied entry to Haleh Hamedifard, the CEO of a prominent pharmaceutical company, due to non-compliance with Islamic dress code.
Iran's ministry of health denied entry to Haleh Hamedifard, the CEO of a prominent pharmaceutical company, due to non-compliance with Islamic dress code.
Due to attend a meeting at the ministry, the CEO of CinnaGen Company and a well-known figure in Iran's pharmaceutical industry, was refused entry based on the length of her manteau, a traditional Iranian outer garment worn by women.
In a social media post accompanied by a photo of herself wearing the manteau, Hamedifard wrote, "I was just denied entry to the ministry right now because my manteau is short. It's truly unreasonable."
Hamedifard went on to voice her anger at the way she was treated, given her position as the representative of the primary producer of medications for special cases and hard-to-treat patients. She pointed out the dire circumstances faced by patients and their families waiting for imported medicines due to shortages right outside the ministry's premises.
She thanked her male colleagues who had chosen not to attend the meeting in solidarity with her. "I love this country; it's my home, and I won't go anywhere else," she affirmed.
Hamedifard had previously won the Book of the Year award in the Islamic Republic in 1999.
The incident follows a recent case involving Fatemeh Rajai-Rad, a physician in the northern city of Amol. She was summoned to court for attending a formal event without compulsory headscarf amidst the regime's tightening of hijab laws.
