[1]

View in your browser [2]

[3]

FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY AND IRAN’S ‘HIJAB AND CHASTITY BILL’

Hi John,

As the 1-year anniversary of the WOMAN, LIFE, FREEDOM movement approaches,
Iranian authorities are pushing through new repressive legislation to
control and punish women.

The ‘Hijab and Chastity Bill’ will give authorities power to deploy
Artificial Intelligence and facial recognition technology to to identify,
arrest, and punish women.

[4]

Women’s rights activist and Information Security Analyst Azam Jangravi
[4]outlines the plans, and what they mean for the right to freedom of
expression, freedom to protest and to privacy.

Iranian officials have welcomed the legislation, which is being pushed
through in secret. Representatives from several Iranian official bodies,
including the Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of
Vice, which is responsible for enforcing the mandatory hijab law, have
issued statements to intimidate the public and thwart demonstrations ahead
of and marking the anniversary of Mahsa Jhina Amini's [5] death in
September. Many of their comments highlight the role technology will play
in persecuting women.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND READ ABOUT OUR LATEST WORK ON IRAN

LEARN MORE

Amnesty International [6] and ARTICLE 19 [7] have both documented instances
of women being identified using street or traffic surveillance systems, and
then being penalised for not wearing hijab.

The bill classifies women’s choice not to wear hijab as ‘nudity’,
going a step further than the existing penal code – thereby increasing
the penalties against women. In fact, as Azam Jangravi writes, anyone who
engages in ‘acts such as disparaging the core tenets of hijab, whether in
public spaces – both online and offline – or advocating for immodesty,
indecency, non-adherence to hijab, or inappropriate attire, will face
fines.’ People found guilty may face travel restrictions, bans from using
the internet and social media, and lose their jobs.

This new legislation designed to further suppress people’s rights is the
latest manifestation of what the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights
situation on Iran has highlighted as the Islamic Republic’s ‘crimes
against humanity’. The international community must continue to take
action, and speak up, against these ongoing assaults.

ARTICLE 19 emphasises and reiterates its long-standing position on the use
of facial recognition technologies:

* ARTICLE 19 reasserts that a moratorium [8] is needed on the development
of facial recognition and biometric technologies given their fundamental
inconsistencies with international human rights standards.
* Companies involved in the development of this technology must be held
accountable by states and international bodies.

Azam Jangravi, the author of ARTICLE 19’s analysis, is one of the
original ‘Girls of Revolution Street’ – women who stood on top of
electricity boxes in Tehran in 2018, taking off their hijabs in protest.

READ THE ANALYSIS

[9]

[10]

[11] [12] [13]

_Copyright © 2023 ARTICLE 19, All rights reserved._
You are receiving this email because you are currently on our regular
subscriber list.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences [14].



Links:
------
[1] [link removed]
[2] [link removed]
[3] [link removed]
[4] [link removed]
[5] [link removed]
[6] [link removed]
[7] [link removed]
[8] [link removed].
[9] [link removed]
[10] [link removed]
[11] [link removed]
[12] [link removed]
[13] [link removed]
[14] [link removed]