Iranian MFA Slams Tbilisi for Disrespect of Islamic Hijab

Iran’s Foreign Ministry “has lodged its strong protest” with Georgia over “disrespect of Islamic headscarves” at Tbilisi International Airport, the ministry spokesperson, Bahram Qassemi, told reporters yesterday.

Qassemi said the problem was experienced by “several Iranian passengers” during security procedures for an Isfahan-bound flight from Tbilisi International Airport.

“The Iranian embassy in Tbilisi expressed its strong protest at the Georgian Foreign Ministry and the airport security police,” Qassemi said without giving further details of the incident.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also reported that several measures have already been taken with respect to the incident, including the summoning of the Georgian ambassador to Tehran and sending a note of protest to the country’s Foreign Ministry.

“Relevant Georgian authorities have also been asked to pursue the matter and prevent Iranian passengers from being subjected to such treatments again,” Qassemi also said, expressing hope that the border officers would treat Muslim women’s privacy with “utmost care” and prevent “such incidents from happening again.”

This is not the first time the Iranian MFA is raising the issue of Islamic headscarves in Georgia. In April 2017, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif informed then Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili “about Georgia’s disrespect for Islamic hijab,” with the latter reportedly ordering an immediate inquiry into the matter.

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