Two organisers of the Kish Island marathon were arrested over unveiled female runners. Judiciary says the event ignored warnings on Iran’s dress rules.
Iran’s judiciary has detained two key organisers of a marathon on Kish Island after women were seen running without headscarves. The arrests were announced on Saturday through the judiciary’s outlet, Mizan Online. Those held include an official from the Kish free trade zone and a representative of the private company behind the event.
More than 5,000 athletes took part in Friday’s marathon, but photos on social media showing women running unveiled quickly triggered a backlash from conservative outlets such as Tasnim and Fars. They accused the organisers of openly breaking Iran’s post-1979 laws that require women to wear hijab in public.
Local prosecutors said the marathon broke legal and religious rules despite prior caution.
“Despite earlier warnings to follow legal, religious and ethical standards, the event still violated public decency,”
— Local Prosecutor (via Mizan)
A criminal case has now been opened against the organisers, reflecting the government’s hard line on anything seen as challenging its moral codes.
The incident comes at a time when many Iranian women are openly resisting the mandatory hijab. Ever since Mahsa Amini died in police custody in September 2022 after being arrested for an alleged hijab offence, public defiance has grown stronger. Women now walk unveiled in streets, parks and even some government spaces.
The “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement that followed her killing marked what activists call an irreversible shift. But even with the growing defiance, the state continues to crack down.
Earlier this week, Parliament criticised the judiciary for what it called weak enforcement. In response, Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei demanded tougher actions to protect the mandatory dress code.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration has avoided approving a strict hijab bill, trying to present a softer image. But for many women, the reality on the ground remains unchanged: patrols, surveillance and arrests are still part of daily life.
The Kish marathon is not the first sporting event to cause uproar. In May 2023, the head of Iran’s athletics federation resigned after women in Shiraz ran without hijabs, a controversy similar to the latest one on Kish Island.
