The Islamic Republic of Iran is refining its repressive arsenal against women who stand up to it by refusing to wear the hijab. And here is the latest retaliatory measure announced: the freezing of their bank accounts, which revives more than ever the usefulness of Bitcoin as a decentralized and uncensored asset to preserve the rights and financial freedom of all.

Iran is shaken by a strong protest movement since the death on September 16, 2022, of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, arrested three days earlier in Tehran by the morality police. She was accused of having violated the dress code of the Islamic Republic by having poorly adjusted her hijab (veil hiding the hair and covering the head and neck).

In Iran, the emotion was intense. Very quickly, spontaneous demonstrations invaded the streets before fierce repression. But nothing was done, the mobilization continued in a movement of unprecedented duration and scope. And women continue to defy the unthinkable by presenting themselves bareheaded, the hijab burned or brandished as a standard of a world they, like all the Iranian people, no longer want.

Destabilized in the face of a revolt that does not weaken, the regime in place wants to strengthen its repressive arsenal by using other weapons, less lethal certainly, but just as effective in curbing freedom: to affect the rebels in their financial independence.

Iranian MP Hossein Jalali has just announced in local media that the Islamic Republic will adopt a series of measures against women who do not wear the hijab or do not wear it properly, which could include blocking their bank accounts. According to the publication Iran International, the sanction would come after two warnings sent by SMS.

Hossein Jalali said:

“It is possible that women who do not observe the hijab will be notified by SMS, asking them to respect the law. After notifying them, we enter the warning phase … and in the third phase, the bank account of the person who has revealed herself may be blocked.”

If the methods to identify the brave women, obviously more and more numerous otherwise the power would not be so alarmed, are not disclosed, the media recalls that Iran has already begun to use cameras in the metro to follow and establish the identity of women who do not respect the mandatory Islamic dress code.

It is moreover this surveillance deployed as part of a radicalization of the policy of President Ebrahim Raisi, which has likely led to the tragedy that set the fire. Spotted for wearing a loose veil, Mahsa Amini died three days later.

Violating the rights of female citizens in a theocratic regime such as the Iranian state is not in itself a novelty. Since 1979 and the establishment of the so-called “Islamic Republic,” the rights granted to women are subject to systematic restrictions, just a little modulated according to successive leaders.

But let’s not forget that a democracy like Canada has not been embarrassed by high principles to attack the financial freedom of some of its citizens whose behavior did not suit it. For example, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not hesitate to invoke the Emergency Measures Act earlier this year to allow regulators to freeze the bank accounts of members participating in “Freedom Convoy” protests.

These assaults on citizens’ financial autonomy are becoming an increasingly common temptation among our policymakers.

This temptation is facilitated by the appearance of digital versions of sovereign currencies. These famous CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currency) will allow states to exercise powerful control over their citizens. What is happening today in Nigeria about the eNaira is probably a harbinger of your near future, whether you live in Europe or America. Because, no doubt, access to and use of a digital euro or a digital dollar will also be a path heavily paved with surveillance, whether it is in one direction or the other.

Iran is also preparing for the launch of its rial 2.0, which will allow it to impose its authoritarian excesses even more easily.

But in any case, in the face of these real or future abuses of power, Bitcoin, as a decentralized and uncensored asset (i.e., used exclusively in self-custody, Bitcoin allows you to escape the arbitrary power of an actor seeking to prevent a transaction), appears to be the only option to adopt. The Iranians are not unaware of this. And in the first place, the leaders in power who want to make it a means of international exchange in the face of US sanctions.

They have probably used it for the first order of goods worth 10 million dollars.

One may cringe at this mention, but Bitcoin belongs to everyone … It is by fully consenting to its virtues, that it appears for what it is: a tool of sovereignty and freedom for all, absolutely all, without any reservations or prior permission. And thinking of Iranian women, we are glad that it exists.