State Newspaper 'Iran': We Won't Hold a Hijab Referendum Because the Opponents' Media Capacity is Stronger

The state newspaper 'Iran' has defended its decision not to hold a referendum on dress code in society, stating that 'the truth is that the masses are more influenced by media and the narratives constructed by the media about reality.' It claims that the media capacity of the anti-hijab discourse is significantly 'greater' and 'more prepared' than that of the pro-hijab discourse. The newspaper asserts that 'the majority' of the people agree with hijab, but they would not vote in favor of it if a referendum were held. The author claims that the majority of Iranians have a negative perception of 'morality police' due to the influence of opposition media, and even religious and veiled women have campaigned against it. The article emphasizes that the 'discursive power' of the pro-hijab movement in the media is weaker for various reasons compared to the 'opposing movement (opposition, monarchists, feminists, separatists, hypocrites, etc.).' The author ultimately concludes that a referendum is not feasible and that what will actually happen is the media influence of the opposition and the elimination of mandatory hijab. The author of 'Iran' believes that the 'ineffective experience' of the morality police in recent years is also a 'burden' on the pro-hijab discourse. Recently, the newspaper claimed to have conducted a survey on hijab, showing that 80% of people 'believe in hijab,' but 68% feel that the majority of society 'prefers not to wear hijab.' Political analyst Abbas Abdi reacted to this survey on social media, stating that 'only geniuses of polling can fabricate and publish such strange results.' Years ago, during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, Abbas Abdi and his colleagues were arrested for conducting and publishing a survey on 'relations with America.' Recently, the newspaper 'Hamshahri' also claimed that 79% of women would 'keep their hijab' even if the hijab law were abolished. However, like 'Iran,' 'Hamshahri' did not provide any information about the methodology of the survey and the target population, but claimed that according to at least 10 national surveys, 'belief in the principle of hijab is at least 75% and beyond.' In contrast, a survey by 'Open Data Iran' regarding the experiences of women who have appeared in public without hijab in recent months shows that out of every 10 women who responded to the questions, 8 have gone out without hijab in the last month or two. A girl received 3 years and 8 months in prison for verbally confronting a harassing cleric. Standing up against two harassers and defenders of mandatory hijab in Shiraz. A sentence of 74 lashes for Zeynab Kazemi, an engineer who removed her mandatory hijab. Citizens' support for a woman heading to the hospital in front of a defender of mandatory hijab. Parisa Salehi, a journalist from the 'Donya-e-Eqtesad' newspaper, was summoned to the prosecutor's office. A lash sentence for an engineer opposing mandatory hijab; Zeynab Kazemi: 'I do not regret my cry for justice.'