Ex‐Hijab Enforcer Reza Seghati Sentenced to Flogging and Exile

Former hijab enforcer Reza Seghati has been sentenced to 100 lashes and exile in Iran after a same-sex scandal (image source)

Reza Seghati, the former Gilan provincial chief of Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance ministry who once ordered lashes for women violating hijab rules, has himself been condemned to 100 lashes and two years’ internal exile after a court ruled he engaged in a same-sex act in July 2023. The unusually public verdict exposes deep inconsistencies in Iran’s moral policing apparatus.

Seghati, known for spearheading “morality patrols” that checked women’s dress in public spaces, was dismissed from his post when a leaked video surfaced showing him in a “non-penetrative sodomy” encounter with another man. The Gilan provincial court applied Article 110 of the Islamic Penal Code—lavat tafkhizi—to hand down corporal punishment and an exile term designed to remove him from urban centres for two years, while his companion received the identical lash count and one year of exile.

“The same man who flogged dozens of women for minor dress-code infractions now faces his own brutal sentence under the very laws he enforced.”— Lara Sukster, Middle East analyst, JFeed

According to OneIndia, investigators uncovered that secret recordings of Seghati and his partner were circulated to undermine regional officials in a wider political power struggle within Gilan province. Local sources say the scandal revealed how private sexual conduct can be weaponized to settle bureaucratic scores—undermining any claim of moral high ground by the theocratic state.

Human rights organizations have blasted the ruling as hypocritical. “Iran’s leadership must end the duality of promoting draconian moral codes while operating above them,” said Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch. “This case is a stark reminder that laws criminalizing consensual adult relationships inflict indiscriminate harm, even on state agents.”

Under Iran’s existing statutes, homosexual acts can attract lashes, imprisonment or, for repeat offenders, the death penalty. The 2023 “Chastity and Hijab” law expanded surveillance powers—including automated hijab-violation alerts—to tighten enforcement of public morality, but it stalled in Parliament after security-council pushback. Despite the pause, regional morality squads have continued aggressive crackdowns backed by facial-recognition cameras and mobile patrols.

Seghati’s downfall highlights a growing backlash within both clerical and lay circles over the regime’s intrusive moral legislation. Last year, prominent jurists questioned whether hijab enforcement impinged on citizens’ rights to privacy and dignity—a debate that resurfaced when Seghati’s sentence was handed down.

International observers view the outcome as a rare instance of theocratic self-policing, but caution that systemic reform remains unlikely so long as conservative hardliners dominate Iran’s power centres. A UN spokesperson said the United Nations is “deeply concerned” about the use of corporal punishment and urged Tehran to repeal discriminatory laws that fuel abuses.

With Seghati’s appeal period set to expire next month, analysts will watch whether his case catalyzes broader legal reviews or simply serves as an exceptional public spectacle. In the meantime, the sentence serves as a grim illustration of how Iran’s moral authorities can swiftly become its own victims.

References

• “Iran’s Hijab Enforcer Reza Seghati Sentenced to 100 Lashes & Exile After Caught in Same‐Sex Scandal,” OneIndia, 19 Sept 2025.

• Tobiloba, “Iran’s former hijab enforcer sentenced to 100 lashes and exile for homosexuality,” 36NG Global, 19 Sept 2025.

• Lara Sukster, “The Hypocrisy of Power: Iran’s Hijab Enforcer Sentenced to 100 Lashes for Homosexuality,” JFeed, 18 Sept 2025.