Iran’s Authorities Announce New Measures in Battle to Enforce Hijab

The governor of the western province of Hamadan has announced that "banks and public offices" will not provide services to women who do not wear a headscarf, amid an intensifying campaign by Iranian authorities to force women to abide by the Islamic Republic’s strict dress codes.

In a statement on April 9, Alireza Ghasemi Farzad called on “non-governmental organizations to help enforce hijab” and ordered sports complexes in the province to “promote chastity and hijab”.

On April 8, police announced that cameras were being installed in public places and thoroughfares across Iran to help identify and penalize violators of forced hijab rules.

The move was aimed at "preventing resistance against the hijab law", a statement said, claiming that women’s acts of civil disobedience tarnishes Iran's spiritual image and spreads insecurity. 

In Iran, all women and girls over the age of nine must conceal their hair with a headscarf while in public and wear loose fitting trousers under their coats.

But a growing number of women have appeared in public without hijab since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody in September 2022, sparking nationwide protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political changes. Amini had been arrested for allegedly wearing hijab improperly.

The authorities have repeatedly warned them to respect the Islamic Republic’s dress codes and threatened to punish violators. Some defiant women were arrested or summoned by the authorities, while many businesses were shut down due to the failure of owners or managers to observe hijab rules.