Iran targets e-commerce giant over photos of women staff without headscarves

Digikala, informally known as ‘Iran’s Amazon’, appears to have run afoul of the rules by posting pictures of a corporate gathering in which several women employees were not wearing the hijab

Dubai: Iranian authorities have shut down one of the offices of the country’s biggest e-commerce company and launched judicial procedures after it published pictures online showing women employees not wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf, semi-official media reported.

The move appears to be part of a new campaign launched last week to impose the Islamic dress code nearly a year after the morality police largely melted away in the face of widespread protests.

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Digikala, informally known as ‘Iran’s Amazon’, appears to have run afoul of the rules by posting pictures of a corporate gathering in which several women employees were not wearing the hijab. The company boasts more than 40 million active monthly users and hosts over 3,00,000 merchants.

Iranians are largely cut off from international retailers like Amazon because of Western sanctions linked to the country’s disputed nuclear programme. The website of Iran’s Hamshahri daily, which is affiliated with the municipality of the capital, Tehran, reported that one of Digikala’s offices had been sealed. It said the website was operating normally.

The website of Iran’s judiciary said court cases had been filed in connection with the photos, without elaborating.