April 26, 2023

Despite arrests, Iranian women defy new hijab law

topic:	Women's rights
located:	Iran
editor:	Gloria Rosary

Eight months after the death of Mahsa Amini - a Kurdish-Iranian woman in custody allegedly for not wearing a hijab properly - a growing number of women in Iran are refusing to wear the mandatory hijab as a sign of protest. They believe the tenacious resistance in their everyday “hijab-less” presence on the streets is an important contribution to the broader change Iranians are fighting for.

These women and college-aged girls carry out this act of defiance in solidarity with the families of the many young protesters who were killed standing up to the regime in the past 8 months, despite Iran’s compulsory hijab laws and the danger of arrest.

Iranian authorities have announced their new plans to review the hijab law and eliminate the “morality police.” However, this move does not signal greater freedom for women, but instead proposes alternative methods to enforce the hijab requirement. Under the new law in effect as of 15 April, surveillance cameras will monitor public spaces for women not wearing a hijab, and violators will be tracked down and punished. 

While physical punishments have been disallowed, violators will be penalised according to  predetermined financial and administrative sanctions, including severe financial penalties of up to 30 billion Iranian rials ($60,000) as well as the revocation of driver's licences, passports and internet access. The new regulations will also require shop owners and businesses, such as shopping malls and accommodation centres, to enforce the rules.

Critics of the government argued that the so-called “smart” plan to detect women without hijabs in public is not technically feasible since current traffic cameras are designed to detect licence plates, not faces. They have condemned the prioritisation of enforcing the hijab over identifying those responsible for the recent chemical attacks on schoolgirls.

Opponents have also pointed out that, before the recent uprising, it was not mandatory laws or the morality police that compelled women to wear a hijab; instead, it was the conservative and religious views held by families in society. The taboo against not wearing hijab was deeply ingrained in society, but now it is gradually losing its hold. 

Rather than a religious issue, the hijab appears to be a political one in Iran. It can be traced back to 1936 when Reza Shah aimed to modernise the country by publicly forcing women to remove their veils. In the 1970s, young Iranian women wore head-scarves in defiance of the government’s policy. After the Islamic revolution in 1979, the hijab became a mandatory dress code for all women in Iran, including non-Muslims and foreigners. 

The current movement in Iran demands the freedom to choose what to wear while also rebelling against the government’s patriarchal ideology at large. The regime sees the hijab as a symbol of its legitimacy; opponents see the hijab as emblematic of a legal system that regards women as second-class citizens and discriminates against them. They warn that strict enforcement of the hijab law could put the regime at risk. 

The issue of the hijab is part of a broader conversation about women's rights and gender equality in Iran - resolving it necessitates comprehensive and sustained efforts, including a fundamental shift in the country's societal and political structures that currently reinforces gender-based discrimination. Meaningful change occurs by educating society, condemning acts of oppression and continuing to pressure those in power to respect human rights.

Image by Artin Bakhan

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