Threatening Women with 'Legal Action'; Law Enforcement Pursuing Mandatory Hijab Enforcement

The police command in various provinces of Iran announced that starting from Saturday, April 25, stricter measures will be implemented to enforce mandatory hijab following Ali Khamenei's emphasis on the need for increased pressure to enforce what he termed 'Islamic standards'. Some users claim that the Islamic Republic has misidentified the 'location of severe retaliation'. Following Khamenei's insistence on dealing with 'religious norm violations', Iranian news agencies reported on Thursday, April 23, that police commands in provinces including Tehran, Isfahan, Bushehr, East Azerbaijan, Semnan, and Kermanshah issued separate statements declaring that the 'Chastity and Hijab' plan would be pursued more rigorously in all public places starting Saturday. In these announcements, women have been threatened that failure to comply with the mandatory hijab and 'moral values and national and religious norms' will result in 'legal action' against them. These statements, published in Iranian news agencies and media, claim that this action will be taken 'within the framework of public demands'. These statements were released after Khamenei's contradictory remarks on Wednesday, April 22, during the Eid al-Fitr prayer, where he stated that while 'the Islamic Republic does not intend to force anyone to be religious', officials, relevant agencies, and those he referred to as 'the public' 'must confront religious norm violations'. The issuance of these statements by police commands in various provinces followed the announcement from the national police command. Previously, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary, had stated that the Islamic Republic is not in a good position regarding what it calls the issues of hijab and chastity. The increased pressure on citizens to violate their individual and social freedoms by the Islamic Republic has sparked reactions on social media. Some users view these pressures as the government's 'severe retaliation' against the Iranian people due to regional failures, while others criticize the expansion of governmental financial corruption and the increase in social pressures on the people. One user on the social media platform 'X' noted that with the implementation of the 'Chastity and Hijab' plan and intensified crackdowns, the Friday prayer in Tehran led by Kazem Sedighi, and the potential rise in gasoline prices, they feel that the Islamic Republic has 'misidentified the location of severe retaliation'. Another user on 'X' stated that 'the severe and regretful response of the Islamic Republic has become outdated and mixed in with the beans', adding, 'We have a new issue! Starting Saturday, mandatory hijab will be imposed more strictly than before!' Additionally, Payam Barazjani, a political science expert, pointed out the financial corruption of Kazem Sedighi and his sons, writing on 'X' that 'tomorrow Sedighi will be the Friday prayer leader in Tehran' and 'on Saturday, the police will begin the Chastity and Hijab plan.' According to him, 'there are no signs of economic change, no steps have been taken for sanction negotiations, it remains the same as before' and 'an added shadow of war. Regarding assassinations, extortion, and inflation, however, nothing!' Ehsan Soltani, a civil activist, emphasized: 'This regime, like in Shahrivar 1401, understands no language other than force and the strong slap of the people. This entirely corrupt and depraved regime will never be reformed.' A user on 'X' also mentioned that 'tomorrow in Tehran, the Friday prayer will be led by Mr. Kaf Sad (Kazem Sedighi)' and 'starting this week, the Chastity and Hijab plan will be enforced by the police', writing: 'I am an infidel to a religion that deals with embezzlers and land-grabbers with piousness and with judicial action against the hijab of girls.' In recent days, Khamenei has also described the removal of the hijab as a return to the Pahlavi era, labeling it 'a return to the disgraceful state of the tyrant.'