Moulavardi: The Law on Expanding 'Chastity and Hijab' Needs Serious Revision

The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs states that the approach of the 'Guidance Patrol' towards improper hijab has not been effective and that the law on expanding 'chastity and hijab' needs serious revision. Shahindokht Moulavardi, in an interview with ISNA on Tuesday, July 18, emphasized that the hijab and chastity law was passed over a decade ago in 2005, and considering the 'revolution in communication and information technology,' society has undergone 'noticeable and significant changes,' which can be clearly observed in people's lifestyles, especially in their clothing and fashion. She concluded that 'it is necessary to prioritize the revision of this law.' Moulavardi stressed that 'we must accept that a purely repressive approach to chastity and hijab has not worked.' The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs of Hassan Rouhani has spoken about the necessity of revising the law on expanding chastity and hijab, while the issue of hijab has always been at the center of attention for the officials of the Islamic Republic in recent years, and women's rights activists consider mandatory hijab to be the most challenging issue for the Islamic Republic. In this context, during the week of hijab and chastity (July 19-25), various religious and governmental figures commented on the issue, including Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad and representative of the Supreme Leader in Khorasan Razavi, who, contrary to his strict religious positions, spoke about the 'wrongness of imposing the quality of hijab on women.' He emphasized that 'the only thing that cannot be imposed on women is hijab, just as being without hijab was not enforced on women through the dictatorial pressures of Reza Khan.' A week after these remarks by the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, Shahindokht Moulavardi told ISNA that there needs to be a 'shift in perspective from security to cultural' regarding hijab, with the oversight of the law on expanding chastity and hijab being transferred to the Public Culture Council. Moulavardi emphasized that the change in the supervising body of 'executive measures for expanding the culture of chastity and hijab' from the Public Culture Council to the Ministry of Interior during the ninth and tenth governments has been the most significant factor in the 'security and political' transformation of the issue of women's hijab. The Vice President for Women and Family Affairs also announced that she has communicated with the President and the secretariat of the Public Culture Council and stated that this office has 'requested a revision of this law and is prepared to do so.' Regarding the responsibility for addressing 'improper hijab,' Shahindokht Moulavardi described the phenomenon of 'improper hijab' as a 'multifaceted' issue and stated: 'In the law on executive measures for expanding the culture of chastity and hijab, the police are considered the last link in the chain, and it is unfair not to say why the police, which is the last link in this chain, has now become the first station?' These remarks come at a time when last week, Saeed Montazerolmahdi, the spokesperson for the police, told Tasnim news agency that 'the police has no desire to enter the area of hijab, but according to Article 639 of the Islamic Penal Code, they are obliged to deal with violators of norms.' According to Mr. Montazerolmahdi, 'the inefficiency of some responsible agencies in this area has placed the burden on the police.' He emphasized that 'among the 26 responsible agencies in this sector, the police has the last responsibility.' In this context, educational classes for those accused of 'improper hijab' and 'drinking alcohol' are being held in Fars province. The prosecutor stated that the vehicles of those who 'unveil' will be confiscated. 'Wednesdays for women who refuse' and the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior stated: 'We do not control the clothing of female employees.' 'Inspection' of hijab and chastity in government offices, 'penalties for female employees.'