Notification of the 'Chastity and Hijab' Bill to Parliament; Continuation of Civil Disobedience by Women Against Mandatory Hijab

In the ongoing pressure to enforce the mandatory hijab envisioned by the Islamic Republic on women in Iran, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly announced that the Guardian Council has approved the bill known as 'Chastity and Hijab' and has notified the Parliament. According to the state-run news agency ISNA on Wednesday, October 4, Ahmad Rastin, spokesperson for the Cultural Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated that the Speaker of the Parliament will soon notify the approved bill by the Guardian Council as the 'Chastity and Hijab Law.' This member of Parliament noted that 'legal actions by responsible agencies' are among the priorities of the bill regarding mandatory hijab, and 'responsibilities for all agencies' in promoting the culture of chastity and hijab have been considered. The approval of the bill known as 'Chastity and Hijab' by the Guardian Council and its notification to the Islamic Consultative Assembly comes at a time when, in recent days, coinciding with the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police and the beginning of nationwide protests, the UN fact-finding committee has warned that the Islamic Republic has intensified its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls and 'destroy the remnants of women's activities.' According to this report, 'Although mass protests have subsided since then, the ongoing defiance of women and girls serves as a reminder that they still live in a system that reduces them to 'second-class citizens.' Civil disobedience against the mandatory hijab envisioned by the Islamic Republic intensified after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police throughout Iran and continues despite increased government pressures. The morality police, which had reduced its presence in public spaces during the nationwide protests of 2021, returned to the streets this April under the name 'Noor Plan' with increased pressures and restrictions. In recent months, during confrontations between government agents and women and girls who refuse to comply with the mandatory hijab, Armita Garavand, a teenage student, was killed due to the actions of hijab enforcement forces in the Tehran metro. Additionally, Maryam Abbasi, the mother of a child who was recently beaten by government agents, revealed new details about her complaint against the 'Noor Plan' agents, stating that the juvenile court judge threatened her, saying, 'If you file a complaint, security and the Ministry of Intelligence will get involved, and they will charge you with actions against national security.' In another incident, a young woman named Arzoo Badri was hospitalized with serious spinal injuries after police shot at her vehicle in connection with the mandatory hijab issue. The United States government expressed serious concern on August 26 regarding media reports about Arzoo Badri's condition, stating that the Islamic Republic has not learned from the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police. Despite increasing government pressures to enforce mandatory hijab, which endangers citizens' lives, the Associated Press has reported a significant presence of women without mandatory hijab in public spaces across Iranian cities, noting that 'seeing women without mandatory hijab in Iranian cities is increasingly becoming a norm.'