Interior Minister Says '23,000 Activists' Have Been Mobilized to Enforce Mandatory Hijab

Qasem Rezaei, the deputy commander of the country's police, stated on Wednesday during a meeting of the Security Council of Qazvin province that the 'Noor plan is not subject to cancellation,' adding that 'changes in governments will not disrupt the implementation of this plan.' The so-called 'Noor' plan, which imposes mandatory hijab on citizens in many cases with violence, began on April 14 of last year. Mr. Rezaei further urged the Islamic Consultative Assembly to pass the 'Hijab and Chastity Law' as an urgent matter. On the same day, Ahmad Vahidi, the Minister of Interior of the Islamic Republic, defended the government's performance regarding the mandatory hijab policy, reporting that during the past three years, '23,000 individuals' have been activated to impose mandatory hijab on Iranian citizens. Mr. Vahidi referred to the agents enforcing the mandatory hijab as the vague term 'positive activists' during the last session of the thirteenth government on Wednesday, August 25. He did not provide any explanation regarding the nature of these 'positive activists' and their methods of operation. A report was released about the municipality's actions to expand mandatory hijab in Tehran. In December 2023, the increasing presence of hijab enforcers and their filming of metro passengers with the help of the police became newsworthy and faced widespread criticism. However, Ahmad Vahidi had previously claimed that 'no permission has been granted to these individuals,' while Alireza Zakani, the mayor of Tehran, referred to it as a 'spontaneous popular phenomenon.' The newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad also noted on July 25 that Alireza Zakani denied the existence of hijab enforcers during election debates, stating, 'It seems that city managers only have a problem with the term hijab enforcer, and actions in the field of chastity and hijab have been carried out in the metro.' Mr. Vahidi also referred to the chain poisonings of schoolgirls in late 2022 and early 2023, reducing it to 'mischief to poison innocent children.' He also claimed that in that case, 'with management, things were well followed up.' Meanwhile, the widespread chain poisonings of schoolgirls and the lack of a swift response from security forces, as well as the contradictory statements of some Islamic Republic officials, have faced severe criticism from political activists, including those close to the Iranian government. The suspicious and unknown-source poisonings in mostly girls' schools in many cities of Iran began in December 2022 amid the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests and continued for several months. The lack of response from Islamic Republic officials and the nature of their statements regarding these poisonings have also fueled speculation about the possible involvement of elements close to the Iranian government in these incidents.