Analytical Report: The Annual Cost of Enforcing Hijab Equals the Wages of Millions of Workers in Iran

Estimates from the Open Data Iran database indicate that the "cost of enforcing hijab on Iranian society" is at least between 40 to 45 trillion tomans annually. This amount is equivalent to the total minimum monthly wage of 6 to 7 million workers in the year 1402 (2023). The minimum monthly wage for workers subject to labor law, married with children, is about eight million tomans per month. The Open Data Iran database classifies the financial burden of mandatory hijab on Iranian families into two categories. First) Indirect costs, where the government, on behalf of the people, spends part of the financial resources from oil sales, tax revenues, and other sources on hijab. Estimates from the Open Data Iran database show that in the 1402 budget, this cost ranges up to 9 trillion tomans. Second) Direct costs, which include expenses that Iranian women and children must pay for clothing such as manteaus, shawls, and scarves, which are estimated to cost 36 trillion tomans annually. In the analysis and review of the Open Data Iran database, it is noted that the annual budget law of the Iranian government does not mention hijab and chastity, but it is clear that "large amounts are annually spent by governmental institutions on promoting, advocating, and enforcing mandatory hijab," which includes four responsibilities: "monitoring compliance with hijab and chastity, revising and preparing regulations and guidelines to prevent improper hijab, raising awareness about the benefits and consequences of chastity and hijab, and adapting the work environment for women." The Open Data Iran database states that the cost of hiring personnel for monitoring and reminding about hijab, preparing guidelines, advertising, and "adapting" the work environment for women is generally funded from the budget and financial resources provided by the government on behalf of the people to these institutions. This database estimates the total budget spent on hijab this year at 5 trillion tomans but states that the issue does not end here. According to this report, the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council has specifically defined special tasks for 27 executive bodies, the implementation of which requires spending amounts exceeding this. In this section, the Open Data Iran database has attempted to estimate the cost of enforcing hijab on Iranian families using "minimum mandatory coverage patterns," classifying it into three costs: 1. All women over 7 years old (36 million and 714 thousand women) are compelled to buy two manteaus annually at an assumed average price of 250 thousand tomans and two hijabs at an average price of 95 thousand tomans. 2. Given the mandatory hijab in public spaces, all women over 15 years old (31 million and 841 thousand women) purchase 4 sets of shawls and scarves annually at an assumed average price of 70 thousand tomans. 3. Ten percent of women over 15 years old (3 million and 184 thousand women) either voluntarily or under compulsion wear chadors in certain administrative spaces and public places, purchasing two pieces of chador annually at an assumed average price of 700 thousand tomans. The calculations from the Open Data Iran database indicate that the cost of adhering to mandatory hijab for women in Iran exceeds 35 trillion tomans annually; an expense that, in the absence of mandatory hijab, could be spent on discretionary matters such as purchasing clothing according to the preferences and desires of citizens. The Open Data Iran database writes: 35 trillion tomans is the direct cost, and 45 trillion tomans is the total cost imposed by mandatory hijab on Iranian women, which is a significant figure in relation to Iran's economy; a figure that could potentially turn a group of stakeholders, including budget-receiving institutions, inspectors and agents whose work is tied to mandatory hijab, individuals and institutions engaged in the production or import of hijab-related goods, etc., into staunch defenders of mandatory hijab in Iran.