Etemad's Account of 4 'Legal Paths' to Prevent the Implementation of the 'Hijab and Chastity' Law; Khamenei's Deadlock

The newspaper 'Etemad', whose owner, Elias Hazrati, heads the Medicalian government's Information Council, published a report today regarding ongoing discussions among various agencies about the controversial 'Hijab and Chastity' law, indicating the possibility of referring this law to the Supreme National Security Council. Etemad emphasized that 'the whispers of postponing the Hijab and Chastity law were louder than ever yesterday', referencing remarks by Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who stated, 'If the law (on Hijab and Chastity) is ambiguous, we should ask its author to clarify it.' The newspaper outlined four legal pathways for addressing this law: 'a letter to the Leader', 'referring the matter to the Expediency Council', raising the issue 'through the Supreme National Security Council', presenting 'a bill for non-implementation of this law', and finally 'holding a referendum'. It reported that 'it seemed the government had prioritized the second strategy to temporarily consider the discussion of implementing the Hijab and Chastity law as null and void by raising the issue in the Supreme National Security Council.' The proposal of these 'legal' pathways to halt the implementation of this law comes at a time when at least three of the proposed paths (discussion in the Expediency Council, approval in the Supreme National Security Council, and holding a referendum) require the approval and consent of Ali Khamenei, who himself supports the imposition of mandatory hijab in the Islamic Republic, declaring it 'a religious and political obligation'. The proposal for a new bill also appears to be a dead end given the current composition of the parliament and the Guardian Council's approach. Etemad wrote that 'the heads of the three branches had agreed in a joint meeting not to implement this law until it is amended', but according to the newspaper, this agreement did not remain stable due to 'Ghalibaf's remarks, which caused controversy.' Ghalibaf had previously stated in a press conference that this law had been approved and would soon be issued for implementation. Today, Ali Rabiei, the 'social assistant' of Masoud Pezeshkian in the government, who has a long history in the Islamic Republic's security institutions, also posted a message on his account on the social media platform X, which is filtered in Iran, stating: 'Whenever I speak with any well-meaning individuals from any faction of the system, they believe the Hijab and Chastity law is impractical and will lead to civil disobedience.' The opposition of government-affiliated officials and some figures from government factions in Iran to the 'Hijab and Chastity' law comes at a time when, upon reviewing these oppositions, a notable point is that none of them oppose 'mandatory hijab'; rather, they consider the timing and method of enforcing this imposition of lifestyle and dress 'inappropriate at present'. The Medicalian government's concern over 'civil disobedience' in the event of implementing the 'Hijab and Chastity' law has been echoed by dozens of journalists who declared their 'firm opposition' to the mandatory hijab law. A group of students stated that the student community would not accept the mandatory hijab proposal. Hundreds of Iranian filmmakers issued a statement rejecting the 'Hijab law', calling it a humiliation of Iranians. Anahita Hemmati shaved her head with the slogan 'Inflation, rising prices, a scourge on the people'. Civil institutions and activists stated that the mandatory hijab law contradicts children's rights. Filmmakers described the mandatory hijab law as 'a full-scale war against the Iranian people'.