Tehran University Official: We Do Not Issue Warnings About Hijab Just to Maintain Order and Calm

The head of the Social Sciences Faculty at Tehran University criticized the hijab situation in Iranian universities, stating that the only reason they do not address the issue of hijab violations is for 'maintaining order and calm.' Gholamreza Jamshidiha said on Saturday, December 1, to ILNA news agency that despite dissatisfaction with the hijab situation, 'the university has not given us any orders to take action.' He added that currently, the situation is such that, contrary to the government of Ebrahim Raisi, women from outside the university or even the university's own security do not intervene regarding hijab violations. In addition to universities, images from other public places in Iran also show widespread disregard for mandatory hijab. Throughout his statements, this university official repeatedly mentioned 'dissatisfaction' with the hijab situation in Iranian universities and emphasized that the hijab situation in universities is 'abandoned.' Jamshidiha claimed without providing details that currently, the issue of headscarves is no longer discussed in Iranian universities; instead, the situation is one of 'nakedness and exposure, which is not good.' His claim about 'exposure' seems to refer to the case of Ahoo Daryai, a student at the Science and Research Unit of Tehran University, who appeared in public without clothes in a protest after a confrontation with university security on November 3, 2023, and was shortly thereafter arrested. Islamic Republic officials initially linked this act to her 'inappropriate' mental state and claimed that this female student was 'sick.' Jamshidiha, without referring to the labeling of this student as 'sick,' commented on the Islamic Republic's establishment of a 'clinic for quitting hijab,' saying, 'The choice of name was not correct because the word clinic reminds people of sick individuals.' Since the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests that followed the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini while in the custody of the morality police, one of the arenas of open opposition to mandatory hijab has been university campuses. Since then, numerous images of open opposition to mandatory hijab by female students have been published. Despite these civil resistances, Abdolhossein Kalantari, the cultural and social deputy of the Ministry of Science, issued the 'New Student Guidelines' to university heads on October 1, coinciding with the start of the new academic year. This guideline included 'policy and executive recommendations regarding hijab.' Some unofficial reports also indicate that contrary to the claims of the head of the Social Sciences Faculty at Tehran University, strict enforcement and pressure for adherence to mandatory hijab continue in universities under the new government.