A woman in Iran confronts an Islamic Republic official about compulsory hijab in 1979 (Hengameh Golestan)
Iran — “Hijab Protester Who Undressed May Be Tortured in Psychiatric Unit”
It was a telling moment in Iran.
With the country facing economic instability, issues over domestic energy, and diplomatic crises across the Middle East, Parliament was devoted its time to….
The Bill for Supporting Families Through Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab.
More than two years after the death in custody of Mahsa Jina Amini — detained and reportedly beaten by “morality police” for “inappropriate attire” — sparked nationwide protests, the legislators of the Majlis were still discussing how to crack down on women over their hair.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in August having expressed solidarity with opponents of mandatory hijab laws during his campaign, now oversaw the contentious measures. While barring police force to impose hijab, the bill threatened financial and social sanctions. Cameras would help authoritities impose fines, and public spaces such as malls could have their licenses revoked. Enforcement could even target private cars, with fines or vehicle confiscation threatened.
The morality police, despite their reputation for violence, will be reinforced. Meanwhile, “educational and cultural programs” will promote hijab.
And the regime has gone farther. The “Headquarters for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice” is introducing Anti-Veil Removal Clinics for “scientific and psychological treatment”. Women deemed non-compliant can be referred to these clinics by judicial order.
Reports from women subjected to these clinics suggest psychological humiliation and coercion. One woman recounted her decision to comply out of fear.
The program, given a €3.5 million budget, has drawn widespread condemnation, with even the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs distancing herself from the initiative.
All of this begs the question: why is the regime so obsessed with hijab?
The Hijab as a Political Symbol
Symbolizing identity, power, and autonomy, the hijab has long been the focus of Iran’s cultural and political struggles, In the 1930s, Reza Shah’s modernization platform banned the head covering as part of his efforts to “Westernize” Iran’s image. Women were compelled to abandon traditional attire, with the state exerting control over their public appearance.
The pendulum swung after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The hijab became compulsory, a marker of the identity of the Islamic Republic. The framing was a purported return to Islamic authenticity and a rejection of Western values. However, the motive, as in the 1930s, was control over women’s bodies as a projection of state power.
Today, the hijab is a site of contest, representing both state authority and resistance to that authority.
Can Defiance Overcome The Regime’s Obsession?
Mandates over women’s clothing have been a means through which both the secular monarchy and the Islamic Republic asserted their ideological dominance. Reza Shah’s prohibited the hijab for a “modern”, Western-oriented Iran. The Islamic Republic demanded hijab as a refusal of Western influence and as a reinforcement of theocratic identity.
The death of Mahsa Jina Amini in 2022 exposed the violence underpinning the enforcement of dress codes. Women and girls took to the streets, rejecting not only the hijab mandate but the broader system of control which it symbolizes.
For the state, these restrictions are key to its survival; for protesters, defying them is a fight for freedom. So the hijab is far more than a simple piece of fabric – it is the field of struggle between control and liberation.
With the persistence both of protests and of the regime’s punitive measures, this conflict will shape the direction of Iran. When young women show their resistance by removing their hijabs, it becomes a powerful act of defiance against years of humiliation. The regime faces the possibility that Iranian women are much stronger than the Islamic Republic.
Many of us hoped to see ourselves in Aho Daryaee, who disrobed at Islamic Azad University to show up the regime’s hijab obsession, but she is the bravest of us — she is a symbol of resistance. As we face the challenge ahead, Mahsa Jina Amini remains the embodiment of an innocence which has morphed into courage as women rise for their right to be heard and their desire to succeed.
What began as a stand by women against oppression, be it led by Reza Shah or Ayatollah Khamenei, is now a movement for change. Every act of defiance is symbolic not just of resistance but of a will to reshape the future on their own terms.
Empty Pockets and Emptier Plates: Poverty Grips Iran
https://iranwire.com/en/features/136587-empty-pockets-and-emptier-plates-poverty-grips-iran/
Iran Disrupts UN Session to Exclude Kurdish Human Rights Group
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“An effort to “mansplain” to women why the Iranian regime’s control and repression is justified.”
reza neither represents men in iran nor the culture of iran. reza and his alike are common, sick courtesans of mullahs, mullahs mount them at friday prayers and in appreciation the courtesans wag their tail, the circle completes when they toss courtesans some bones in return….that is life of reza
Spain bans bikinis and going topless in tourist hotspot as Brits face £500 fines: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/spain-bans-bikinis-going-topless-28877908
“Spain’s biggest tourist hotspot has banned bikinis and going topless, with Brits warned they could face fines of £500. British holidaymakers are being told to be careful as some could get big fines for wearing swimwear in Spain. The top destination for UK sun-lovers is bringing in new dress code rules which could mean fines of £500 for those not following them in bikinis or swimming shorts. The new laws say what people can wear in public, with the chance of fines if they don’t stick to the rules.”
Is this “oppression against women” or just plain common sense? I am all for people wearing what they like, or nothing at all, but in the wild.
“I am all for people wearing what they like, or nothing at all, but in the wild.”
Earthworms don’t need to express anything other than crawling in dirt, reza.
[Editor’s Note: An effort to “mansplain” to women why the Iranian regime’s control and repression is justified.]
1. There are varying acceptable dress codes among the world’s cultures. In some societies, full nudity is acceptable. In the West, men bearing their naked chests is fine but if women go topless it is not. In many European countries: it is OK to wear a bikini at the beach but not down the street. In France, it is illegal for women to wear burqas and niqabs in public and to wear religious symbols in the school classroom. For those in the West who insist “my body, my choice”, I would ask why is it illegal to consume hardcore drugs?
2. In 1983, not 1979, the elected representatives to the Majlis passed a law requiring women to apply hijab (the practice of veiling in Islam based on Qur’anic injunctions) whilst in public. The purpose of this is in line with Islamic sexual morality which promotes a life of modesty and chastity rather than promiscuity and indecency. It is not considered just a “private matter” since it only works if everyone, or nearly everyone, adheres to it. The practice of veiling women goes back to pre-Islamic times and it was seen as protective.
3. Hijab is not seen as a burden by most Iranian women so much as poverty, unemployment and inflation. There is some resentment at the “morality police” for enforcing it, but most accept that they live in a society which requires this of them (and men also). The point about the death of Mahsa Amini that she had been detained and was in police custody when she collapsed and died. Only in the West is it seen as a struggle for “freedom”.