The 'Hijab and Chastity' Law; From Warning for Implementation to Necessarily Being Shelved

The law known as 'Hijab and Chastity' was finally approved in October this year after two years of back-and-forth and struggles in the parliament and the Guardian Council. The Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly announced in the first week of December that this law would be sent to the President for signing and implementation starting from December 23. According to civil law, the President must sign the law sent by the parliament within five days; thus, Massoud Pezeshkian, as President, was supposed to sign and announce it by December 28. These two years and the days of December have come and gone, and ultimately, only news of the 'postponement' and shelving of this law by the Supreme National Security Council was released. Where did this story begin, and how did it end up being shelved until further notice? The story began on December 10, 1403, when the details of this law, officially titled 'Law for Supporting Families through Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab,' were published after being approved by the Guardian Council. The most prominent aspect of this law was the heavy financial penalties imposed, which many described as a means for the government to generate revenue. The preparation and drafting of the 'Chastity and Hijab' law date back to 1402. Following the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the morality police in early autumn 1401, widespread protests swept across the country, known as the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. In the wake of these protests, which were severely suppressed and resulted in many deaths, Iranian women, especially the younger generation, began appearing in public places with optional hijabs. Concurrently, the so-called morality police vans were removed from the streets. However, as the street protests were suppressed, the drafting of the hijab and chastity law came into play. Initially, the judiciary prepared this bill in nine articles and sent it to Ebrahim Raisi's government on May 9, 1402. The cabinet increased it to 15 articles, approved it on May 27, and sent it to the Islamic Consultative Assembly. In parliament, the Judicial and Legal Commission expanded the bill to 71 articles and ultimately approved a three-year experimental implementation. However, the Guardian Council repeatedly rejected the parliament's bill for minor amendments until it was finally announced in early October this year that it had been approved by the Guardian Council and sent to parliament. Concurrently with the publication of the details of this law, supporters and opponents faced off in separate lines. Aside from widespread public reactions reminding Pezeshkian of his electoral promises regarding hijab choice, media outlets calculated the fines mentioned in the law. The newspaper Etemad reported that 'according to Article 50 of the Chastity and Hijab Law, women who unveil themselves in public spaces, whether real or virtual, will be fined approximately 5 million tomans for the first offense and about 165 million tomans for subsequent offenses.' Previously, fines had also been imposed on women whose cars were confiscated, including financial penalties or social restrictions or work in a morgue. Simultaneously, the hashtag 'Do Not Implement' directed at Pezeshkian began trending on social media. A number of women also shared their hijab-free images on social media to announce that if the government's struggle against them and women's freedom continues, they are ready before the law is implemented. Pezeshkian had explicitly positioned himself on the morality police and hijab choice during his electoral campaign, but electoral slogans in the Islamic Republic often lose their relevance after elections. Just as Ebrahim Raisi claimed to oppose the morality police, the last person to die for this reason was Armita Garavand, a high school teenager reported to have lost her life after an encounter with hijab enforcement officers in the metro last year. Given these circumstances, Pezeshkian's government reacted after the Speaker of Parliament announced the law's implementation. The President's assistant for 'Pursuing Rights and Social Freedoms' described this law as 'impractical.' Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stated that the law would be sent for implementation, and according to Islamic Republic laws, the President's failure to sign and approve it would not affect its implementation. In a public atmosphere that was not favorable to Pezeshkian, his electoral slogan that 'it matters who the President is' had become a tool to humiliate those who voted for him. Pezeshkian, however, did not have a clear and decisive stance. In a television interview on December 12, he stated that this law has 'many ambiguities in terms of implementation' and added: 'We want to fix something; it may get worse with intervention... From my perspective, which has to implement it, many issues in this law raise questions.' His questions primarily concerned the implementers, while part of women's demands was freedom in choosing attire. However, Pezeshkian also noted that 'they wanted to implement this law at the beginning of my presidency.' He understands that given the prevailing economic and political conditions, the powder keg cannot withstand a spark, especially at a time when both the dollar has surpassed a historic high of 70,000 tomans and the electricity situation has returned to the days of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, with severe air pollution exacerbating the situation and gas conditions not being very favorable either. It seems he did not want to put himself in a significant predicament, as he would ultimately be considered the executor of the law, and the consequences of implementing the law would fall on his government. Following the publication of the details of the Chastity and Hijab Law, representatives, including Amir Hossein Bankipour, a prominent figure in designing the law, described it as cultural and economic. He rightly pointed out that this law serves as a means for revenue generation. His only good news was that morality patrols would be disbanded, and in return, cameras would identify faces. This means that citizens are under constant surveillance. Qalibaf also believed that the roles of various agencies were clarified in this law, and only the police would not have a role. He had previously commanded the police force and perhaps preferred that not all pressure be placed on the police force, and other institutions should also be present in similar incidents. In contrast to these supporters, numerous groups of journalists, teachers, filmmakers, sociologists, and the Iranian Writers' Association protested this law through separate statements, demanding that it not be implemented. A group of sociologists described this law as a 'quasi-law' and considered it a blatant interference in individuals' personal lives and a restriction of civil rights, especially for women, leading to discrimination and insecurity in society. These sociologists also warned that the implementation of this law would lead to 'the promotion of violence and social insecurity.' Fears of 'social repercussions' Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had stated that the Chastity and Hijab Law would be sent for implementation on December 23, but that date passed without any law being issued. On December 27, a week after Qalibaf's designated date, Shahram Dabiri, the President's Assistant for Parliamentary Affairs, announced that it was proposed that this law be reviewed and halted through a meeting of the heads of the branches or the Supreme National Security Council. He also acknowledged that 'the current conditions of the country are not suitable for implementing the law.' Dabiri also mentioned another issue, the 'amendment of the hijab law,' which had been proposed by the parliament and the Speaker of Parliament. He stated that the government decided not to implement it either. It seems negotiations had taken place between the parliament and the executive branch, and the parliament had requested a 'corrective bill' from the government. Even Siamak Rahpaykar, the Deputy Secretary of the Guardian Council, told Khabar Online that 'a resolution can be amended through a proposal or bill. The point is that there are legal methods available, and it is not very complicated.' After the law was passed, the Guardian Council and parliament suddenly showed flexibility and were willing to listen to the government's voice, which had appeared as an opponent. However, the government left both unanswered and preferred to intervene through the Supreme National Security Council to halt the law's implementation. In fact, despite part of the government body still seeking to implement the Chastity and Hijab Law, even with amendments, the government, considering the numerous economic, political, and social challenges it faces, sought to stop and postpone it. Ali Rabiei, the President's Social Assistant, seemed very pleased with this decision and wrote on social media X: 'Thanks to the President for placing the implementation of this law on the agenda of the National Security Council, considering its social repercussions.' The halt of this law's implementation was not officially announced, but two parliament representatives stated on December 24 that the law's issuance had been 'temporarily' postponed based on the decision of the Supreme National Security Council. Following that, a harsh editorial published by the Kayhan newspaper on December 28 against this decision effectively confirmed the news of the postponement of the issuance and implementation of the Chastity and Hijab Law. Thus, the law known as 'Chastity and Hijab,' based on generating revenue from heavy fines and encouraging and incentivizing people to report each other for unveiling, is set to remain 'temporarily' shelved. The widespread street protests of 'Women, Life, Freedom' were severely suppressed, but the effects and consequences of this movement, to varying degrees and in different forms, are still visible in society and government behavior.