Continued Government Efforts to Impose Mandatory Hijab; Female Employees in Qom Province Must Wear Chador and Be Unadorned

The Qom Governorate has issued a directive requiring female employees in the province to appear at work in accordance with what is termed 'modesty and hijab' laws, specifically mandating 'chador and no makeup.' According to this directive, which has been published in several media outlets, employees in the health and medical sectors are exempt from this law. Previously, legal cases have been filed against several female employees for not adhering to the mandatory hijab as prescribed by the Islamic Republic, and in some instances, their workplaces have been shut down. One such case involved legal action against female employees of the online bookstore 'Taqcheh,' while another instance saw the closure of the 'Digikala' building due to non-compliance with mandatory hijab rules by female employees in one of its departments. According to the bill known as the 'Support for Modesty and Hijab Culture Bill,' failure to comply with mandatory hijab by employees and individuals working in educational or research centers, whether public or private, will result in penalties including a reduction of one-fifth of their salary and benefits for one to three months, followed by a reduction of one-third of their salary and benefits for two to six months, and the cancellation of all privileges, discounts, and exemptions granted, including any allocated quotas. In April of this year, the public prosecutor of South Khorasan announced that female employees, even if they remove their hijab outside of working hours and outside the workplace, will have their details recorded in a disciplinary committee, and decisions regarding them will be made by the end of the year. In this context, Ahmad Alamolhoda, representative of Ali Khamenei in Razavi Khorasan, noted that the Supreme Leader has labeled hijab violations as a 'political crime,' stating that mere legal issues are insufficient and that it must be clearly defined what security and law enforcement agencies should do in this criminalization. Following widespread protests in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police, an increasing number of girls and women, including actresses and athletes, have removed their headscarves in protest against mandatory hijab. In response, the Islamic Republic is attempting to prevent civil disobedience by issuing heavy judicial sentences against women. The imposition of mandatory hijab on women in Iran has faced widespread criticism from human rights organizations. Amnesty International has described the mandatory hijab in Iran as a tool for 'widespread and systematic violation of the human rights of women and girls' and has condemned it. Javid Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur, also noted in his annual report that one of the most glaring examples of organized and targeted harassment and discrimination against women in Iran is the government's pressure to enforce mandatory hijab. There is a power struggle over a law that the public opposes; the judiciary states that the government should not interfere in the text of the 'Modesty and Hijab' bill. A month after the death of Armita Garavand, a member of parliament stated that hijab enforcers should be stationed everywhere. There is insistence on 'closure therapy'; a bookstore in Isfahan and a restaurant in Tehran have been shut down. The deputy mayor of Tehran stated regarding the 'hijab enforcers': 'Our goal is to remind and ensure hijab compliance.' The intensification of 'closure therapy' for businesses and services has seen everything from inns to cafes on the closure list.