Hamas, Iran Increase Restrictions on Women

The Hamas government in Gaza last week, banned women and minors from smoking traditional water pipes in public.
Hamas, Iran Increase Restrictions on Women
7/20/2010
Updated:
7/20/2010

The Hamas government in Gaza last week, banned women and minors from smoking traditional water pipes in public, saying it violates traditional customs, according to the Egypt Daily News. The water pipes, loaded with flavored tobacco, are a very popular leisure activity throughout the Arab world.

Critics say the ban will hurt business owners in the blockaded city, though according to the report few women smoked in public before the ban.

Iran’s general prosecutor, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, on Sunday, called for stricter punishments for dress code violations in the country.

“Violators of public chastity should be punished by being sentenced to up to two months in jail or 74 lashes,” he said, according to a Reuters report.