IRGC Commander Warns Of "Widening Gap" between Iranians and the Government

A senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that a stepped-up enforcement of mandatory hijab rules will lead to a "widening gap" between the government and the people.

Writing in Shargh newspaper on April 17, Hossein Alaei criticized the police force's treatment of women and girls who do not wear a head covering in public places, calling it a "repetition of the morality police patrol's mistake which not only reduced the level of hijab in society but also caused strong reactions and the spread bad hijab." 

He added that the police force should not deal with “clothing and hijab,” which he said “should be a social and moral issue.”

All women in Iran must conceal their hair with a headscarf and wear loose fitting trousers under their coats while in public.

But a growing number of women have appeared in public without a hijab since a young woman died in police custody in September 2022, triggering nationwide protests demanding more freedoms and women’s rights. Amini had been arrested for allegedly wearing a headscarf improperly.

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. 

The judiciary claimed that according to the Islamic Penal Code, "removing the hijab in public is a “crime," and police chief Ahmadreza Radan warned that starting on April 15, anyone violating hijab laws in public places, cars and commercial establishments will be prosecuted.

A lecturer at the Qom seminary, Asghar Nazimzadeh Qomi, warned on April 14 that "aggressiveness, threats, insults and depriving citizens of public facilities and services” are "illegal" under Sharia and “do not help promote the hijab and other Islamic rules."