Government Voting Ends; 'Hijab' Returns to the Concerns of Islamic Republic Officials

Just a week after the end of government voting and the replacement of Mohsen Pezeshkian for Ebrahim Raisi, officials of the Islamic Republic returned to one of their main concerns, which is limiting women's freedom, and called for a crackdown on 'immodesty'. Ahmad Alamolhoda, representative of Ali Khamenei in Mashhad, stated: 'If a woman wants to be unveiled in front of non-mahrams within the four walls of her home, cultural work should be done with her, but if she wants to go out with the same attire, we must take measures against her.' The father of Ebrahim Raisi's wife also said: 'Unveiling will lead to unveiled women becoming captives of the lusts of young men, causing society to decline and collapse; and any colonialism and imperialism will be accepted by the people.' Simultaneously, a representative from Gilan in the Assembly of Experts called for 'training forces to teach hijab in schools.' Reza Ramazani stated that 'the enemy wants to promote nudity and immorality in Iran,' adding: 'World security services want to first culturally transform the country through the spread of unveiled women and then change the regime.' Asadollah Soleimani, head of an association known as 'Activists and Specialists in the Hijab Field,' mentioned in a television program about 'modest attire': 'If officials come to work, we, along with the organizations we have established, can soon become a hub for exporting modest attire.' A video circulated on social media showing an individual asking Pezeshkian to deal with women who do not adhere to mandatory dress codes, to which Pezeshkian responded: 'Instead of punishing unveiled girls, we should look at ourselves. If your daughter does not listen to you, what will you do? These are also our daughters, and we must interact with them forever.' The Islamic Republic has named July 12 as 'Hijab and Chastity Day,' citing the 'attack of government agents on the gathering of opponents of Reza Shah's policies at the Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad' as the reason for this designation. Earlier reports from various cities indicated an increase in the closure of popular venues and restaurants under the pretext of not adhering to the mandatory hijab as required by the Islamic Republic by employees and customers, with these closures being announced by the official accounts of these venues to the public. Following the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in September 2022, a significant number of Iranian girls and women have adopted optional dress codes. In this context, despite employing all governmental resources to impose mandatory hijab on citizens, the Islamic Republic continues to face civil disobedience from women seeking optional dress codes, and the government's efforts have so far been fruitless. A young woman riding a motorcycle without mandatory hijab in the streets of Karaj; a speech without mandatory hijab by Marzieh Vafamehr at a memorial ceremony for Nasir Taghavi; confirmation of the closure of the Turkish airline office; the Minister of Interior of the Islamic Republic states that they clashed with the police; closure of the Turkish airline office due to 'non-compliance with mandatory hijab' by the 'Places Administration' of the police; Elnaz Shakerdoost summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office on charges of 'offending public chastity.'