Parliament Research Center: 50% Decrease in Those Who Value Hijab

The Research Center of the Iranian Parliament reported that the number of individuals who believe in the necessity of the Islamic hijab and the government's enforcement against "unveiled" individuals has gradually decreased. According to survey statistics, the belief in the hijab is lower among educated individuals, youth, and those with access to media, cultural products, and higher incomes. The report states that contrary to common perceptions, the level of "bad hijab" does not significantly differ between urban and rural areas. Approximately 35% of the population considers hijab to be "valuable," marking a 50% decrease compared to the early years following the 1979 Revolution. The report indicates that "at least half of the people believe in the conventionality of hijab," meaning that hijab does not have a fixed form and its extent is determined by the norms of each society. Following the 1979 Revolution, hijab became mandatory in Iran. However, some Shia clerics oppose the mandatory hijab, while others believe that the hijab ruling is subject to change. For instance, Ayatollah Mohammad Ishaq Fayyaz, one of the four prominent clerics in Najaf, stated in a meeting with the head of Iran's judiciary in 2016 that "the use of force and coercion in promoting hijab is ineffective." Hassan Youssefi Eshkouri, a Shia cleric, mentioned in 2000 at a Berlin conference that social rulings of Islam, including hijab, are changeable. He was initially accused of apostasy and sentenced to death for this statement, but the ruling was eventually overturned, and he faced five years in prison along with being stripped of his clerical status. In this context, 12 religious reformists issued a statement on February 6, 2018, denying mandatory hijab, emphasizing that the policies of the Islamic Republic in this regard have resulted in nothing but "excessive financial costs, religious and spiritual discredit, political inefficacy, and social waste." The Research Center of the Parliament compared various governmental surveys over the years, reporting a "significant decrease" in support for measures like the morality police, with only 40% of individuals favoring government intervention in this manner. The center noted that "behavioral and normative transformation in society is moving towards bad hijab or conventional hijab." According to one of the studies referenced in the report, in 2012, about 65% of women in urban and rural areas of Iran were "badly veiled." For years, Iranian officials have launched a program called "morality police" to combat what they term the spread of "bad hijab and various Western clothing" in Iran, which includes addressing what they describe as "unconventional" attire. However, according to statements from some government, judicial, and law enforcement officials, this controversial program, which has many opponents, has not been very effective. For instance, Iran's Minister of Interior acknowledged in March of last year that the "severity" applied to hijab enforcement in the years following the revolution has been "ineffective." In recent months, public protests against mandatory hijab have made headlines, with some protesters, known as the Girls of Revolution Street, sentenced to two years in prison. Meanwhile, campaigns opposing mandatory hijab have emerged, including "Secret Freedoms," which utilized social media for this purpose.