Iran Pauses Stricter Hijab Law Amid Public Backlash and Concerns of Unrest
18 DEC 2024
Iran has temporarily paused the implementation of a controversial law that would impose stricter penalties on women who defy the mandatory headscarf rule, an official has announced. The move comes amid concerns that the legislation could spark protests similar to those that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022.
L: An Iranian woman without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, flashes a victory sign as she walks at the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran. (PC: AP)
The law, approved by parliament in September 2023, would have introduced severe fines and imprisonment for women violating the hijab mandate, as well as penalties for businesses serving them. However, Shahram Dabiri, vice president for parliamentary affairs, revealed in an interview with the pro-reform Ham Mihan daily that the bill would not be sent to the government for enactment at this time, stating that it is “not feasible” to implement the legislation now.
Had the bill moved forward, President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist critical of the proposal, would have been legally required to approve it within five days, with enforcement starting 15 days later. Such a scenario could have left him with little choice but to seek intervention from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds the final authority on state matters. Pezeshkian has previously described the law as having “many questions and ambiguities.”
A woman in a hijab walks through the streets of Tehran, the Iranian capital. (PC: Unsplash/Amir Hosseini)
The proposed legislation includes a range of punitive measures, such as fines of $800 for first-time offenses, $1,500 for repeat violations, and up to 15 years in prison for subsequent offenses. Public figures opposing the law could face the loss of 8% of their net worth, while businesses could be fined, closed, or subjected to travel bans. The law also grants authorities access to private surveillance footage and encourages informants, including foreign nationals, to report violations. This development comes more than a year after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for allegedly failing to wear her hijab properly. Her death sparked months of nationwide protests, leading to over 500 deaths and more than 22,000 arrests. While Iranian officials deny responsibility for her death, U.N. investigators have attributed it to physical violence by the morality police.
Since Amini’s death, many Iranian women have increasingly defied the hijab mandate, appearing in public with uncovered hair despite the risk of arrest or harassment. The temporary halt to the stricter law signals an acknowledgment of the public's resistance and the potential consequences of pushing forward with such measures in the current climate.
