Ambiguity Surrounds the Status of the 'Chastity and Hijab' Bill; Guardian Council: It Seems the Committee's Review Has Not Yet Concluded

A week after the announcement of the 'completion of the review' of the 'Chastity and Hijab' bill in the parliamentary committee, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council stated today that 'it seems the review of this bill has not yet been completed in the specialized committee.' Hadi Tahan-Nazif, in his press conference, emphasized that 'the Guardian Council has not yet received any resolution regarding the Chastity and Hijab bill.' He stated, 'After the specialized committee finishes its review, it will be presented to the parliament to determine the duration of its trial implementation, and then it will be sent to the Guardian Council.' Last week, conflicting reports emerged regarding the status of the 'Chastity and Hijab' bill in parliament from various representatives, which received widespread attention. Initially, Hassan Norouzi, the deputy head of the Legal and Judicial Committee, announced the finalization of the bill's approval in the committee and its submission to the Guardian Council. Hours later, Mohsen Pirhadi, a member of the parliamentary board, denied this, stating, 'The committee's report has not yet reached the board.' Subsequently, Mousa Ghasemfarabadi, the head of the Legal and Judicial Committee, also denied its submission to the Guardian Council but mentioned that its review in the committee had concluded and the report would be presented to the parliament to decide on the 'trial implementation period' of this law. Now today, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council has mentioned that 'it seems' the review of this bill in the committee has not yet been completed. The release of these conflicting reports indicates that the parliament has not yet reached a final consensus on this bill. Following the widespread anti-government protests last year, which peaked after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, opposition to certain laws such as mandatory hijab became more pronounced. In response, the Islamic Republic's institutions intensified their crackdowns and imposed political-social restrictions under various pretexts. Among the measures taken by the Islamic Republic to control civil protests against compulsory women's dress was the drafting of the 'Chastity and Hijab' bill and its submission to the Islamic Consultative Assembly. This bill is to be approved by representatives under Article 85 of the Constitution, which stipulates that the review and approval of the bill is the responsibility of the parliamentary committee and will be sent to the Guardian Council without a vote in the parliament. Mousa Ghasemfarabadi had previously announced the 'completion of the review of the Chastity and Hijab bill' in his committee, and the newspaper 'Etemad' reported on August 20 that proposals were being made during the review of the 'Chastity and Hijab' bill; a review of these proposals indicated that representatives were seeking to create a 'closed space' in society and increase the costs of optional hijab. The parliament, a day later, published a 'response' calling the Etemad newspaper's report 'illusory.' Ali Mojtahedzadeh, a lawyer, reacted on September 1 to the potential approval of this bill in the parliament, stating that its implementation would practically increase the potential for 'urban violence' in Iran 'several times over.' Meanwhile, even some former security officials of the Iranian government, such as Ali Rabiei, the former deputy of the Ministry of Intelligence, have warned against the implementation of this potential law, stating that it would lead to 'conflict and strife' in schools. In this regard, Tanaz Kolahchian, a lawyer, also told the Persian section of 'Voice of America' that even the representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly preferred not to have their signatures on the Chastity and Hijab bill.