Officials of the Islamic Republic Insist on Mandatory Hijab; Civil Resistance of Iranian Women Continues

Amidst the resistance of a significant portion of Iranian women against the law of 'mandatory hijab' and their presence in public streets and gatherings with 'optional covering', officials of the Islamic Republic continue to insist on adherence to this compulsory dress code. In this context, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly has announced the directive of the Supreme National Security Council and the cooperation of the three branches for legal action regarding the hijab issue. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, referring to the resolutions of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, the National Security Council, and the National Security Council regarding hijab, stated: 'It is our duty to address any legal gaps in this area, whether through government bills or through the judiciary's bill, without delay.' Masoud Setayesh, spokesperson for the judiciary, announced on May 8 that a 9-article draft bill for hijab and chastity has been prepared: 'This draft has been sent to the government after being approved by the head of the judiciary and is under review in the government's legal commission.' Mohsen Barahani, a legal scholar and faculty member at Tehran University, in an interview with 'Etemad', discussed the legal and executive dimensions of the recent government's resolutions regarding 'hijab', stating that recent actions against unveiled women lack legal and religious standards. He also described the prevention of 'unveiled' women from entering the metro and parks or confronting activists on this pretext as illegal, adding that all these actions being implemented in the country are both against the law and against religious principles. Simultaneously, Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts, on Friday, May 22, stated that 'the recent story of unveiled women should not be underestimated', claiming: 'An American theorist has said that there are two ways to destroy the Islamic regime in Iran: one is to overthrow the guardianship of the jurist, and the second is to overthrow hijab; if we manage to eliminate hijab, we have also eliminated obedience to the guardianship.' Mohammad Saeedi, the Friday prayer leader of Qom, also said on Friday, May 22, that 'in the matter of chastity and hijab, alongside confronting norm violators, explanatory work must also be done in society and families.' He added: 'Chastity and hijab and Islamic covering are a fundamental, undeniable principle of Islam and one of the hallmarks of an Islamic society, as an Islamic society cannot be accepted without chastity and hijab.' These statements by the leaders of the Islamic regime come at a time when the installation of promotional banners for hijab featuring quotes from great Western literary figures such as 'Tolstoy' and 'Victor Hugo' has sparked considerable debate among Iranians. Now, Hosseini Hamadani, the Friday prayer leader of Karaj, has claimed that 'Ferdowsi' also emphasized hijab in his Shahnameh. According to him: 'Chastity and hijab have been an Iranian characteristic that later merged with Islam, and references to the hijab and the covering of Iranian women are mentioned in various sections of the Shahnameh.' Meanwhile, images and videos from various cities across the country have been published showing women walking without mandatory hijab. Zeynab Zaman, daughter of Hossein Zaman, also spoke at her father's funeral without mandatory hijab, stating: 'I will not forget the oppression that my father faced for years.' The continued civil resistance of women and walking without mandatory hijab in various cities of Iran, a citizen's account of girls' volleyball without mandatory hijab on the Caspian Sea, the holding of the Tehran Book Fair in the absence of prominent publishers, and the promotion of hijab using quotes from Tolstoy and Hugo continue. The ongoing 'civil disobedience' of opponents of mandatory hijab persists despite increasing government pressure. Women riding motorcycles without mandatory hijab in Isfahan in memory of Hamidreza Rouhi, civil resistance of citizens, a woman cycling with optional hijab in Karaj, ongoing harassment by defenders of mandatory hijab in various cities, and women's resistance. A woman standing up against another woman giving a hijab warning in Isfahan, continued harassment of citizens under the pretext of not adhering to mandatory hijab in Iran, the prosecutor's office in Qeshm seized a boat due to 'mixed recreational activities of tourists.' Reactions to the advertisements of 'hijab' and 'chastity' from the words of Tolstoy and Hugo.