A Law to Address Budget Deficit
A Law to Address Budget Deficit
The law on chastity and hijab, aimed at what has been called strengthening the family, has been sent to Masoud Pezeshkian for government notification. Now, the President of Iran must sign and announce this law, but individuals like the President’s assistant for social rights and freedoms consider its implementation impractical. This issue has sparked widespread debates among Iranians in recent days. The details of the family support law through promoting the culture of chastity and hijab were published in Iranian media on December 1. This law repeatedly emphasizes family strengthening.
The drafting of the hijab and chastity bill began in 2023 after the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini in 2022 while in the custody of the morality police, and widespread protests regarding the hijab, morality police, and women’s freedoms. At that time, the morality police were disbanded, but since women appeared in public with optional hijab, it was decided to prepare a law for hijab. The hijab and chastity bill was rejected several times by the Guardian Council and sent back to the Parliament for amendments. The latest changes by the Parliament managed to satisfy the Guardian Council. This report was prepared through interviews with several citizens in Iran, and pseudonyms were used to protect their security.
Public Reports or Informing on Others
Some clauses of this law aim to encourage public participation in identifying individuals without mandatory hijab, including creating a system to receive public reports. Bahar’s car was impounded due to one such public report for uncovering mandatory hijab. She says the creation of the report submission system will expand, which is an effort to normalize informing on others. Sara, another citizen, believes that this method makes everyone suspicious and distrustful of each other, as anyone could report you at any moment.
This law requires internet taxi services to prepare their communication systems within two months for drivers to report passengers violating the hijab and chastity law. In this case, the driver is exempt from paying fines. Mr. Rasoul, an internet taxi driver, says that in the past two years, his taxi has been impounded twice. He doesn’t believe in this law, but every time he has warned a woman, he has mostly faced negative reactions, and several times passengers have canceled the ride. Now, what should we do?
Ms. Yasaman is a cafe owner whose cafe has been sealed and unsealed several times. She says unsealing is difficult and complicated, so she is forced to warn everyone about hijab and hear that she is complicit with the government. Yasaman believes the government wants citizens to resolve each other’s issues. According to this law, women are supposed to be blamed for their demands regarding optional hijab. Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the former secretary-general of the Executives of Construction Party, has said that for the law to be implemented, people need to be convinced; otherwise, it is not enforceable. Many people will not comply with this law, even with heavy fines, and cannot be forced. He has suggested to the government to focus more on people’s lives and economy, and based on what he has heard, Mr. Pezeshkian has stated that this law is not enforceable and will create problems, but what he intends to do is unknown.
A Substitute for Non-Oil Government Revenues
In the hijab and chastity law, specific responsibilities and duties have been assigned to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the Islamic Propagation Organization, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, the Ministry of Health, the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, municipalities and village administrations, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, and the Vice Presidency for Women’s Affairs. According to the Speaker of the Parliament, this law will be announced on December 14 and will be implemented experimentally for three years. The responsibilities of these agencies are almost similar, but the fines are a prominent feature of this law.
Those who expose themselves in public or virtual spaces to non-mahrams will be fined. These individuals must be identified and fined through smart systems of Faraja. Unveiling means not wearing a chador, manteau, scarf, or similar garments. Other fines are also included in this law, but monetary fines are at the forefront. Not adhering to mandatory hijab for the first time carries a fine of up to 18 million tomans. If the officials of complexes and townships do not provide CCTV footage to officers, they will be fined 18 to 36 million tomans. These fines increase in case of repetition. Those who insult or confront hijab warners will be fined 8 to 18 million tomans.
Additionally, for each impounded vehicle, the driver must pay the costs of towing to the parking lot, settling vehicle violations, and parking fees. All these can be considered part of government revenues. Amirhossein Bankipour, Vice Chairman of the Cultural Commission and one of the designers of the law, explicitly confirmed in an interview that the law is fundamentally cultural and economic, and individuals will be identified and fined through cameras. Mr. Ali, a professor at Tehran University, points out the status of women’s hijab in Iran, saying the authorities know women will not return to the previous state, so they want to generate revenue from it. This income is stable and increasing.
Ms. Elaheh is a teacher who says the set fines draw a line between over 90% of society and the wealthy. These fines are equivalent to a month’s salary for an employee. In her opinion, some may be able to pay the fines, but the majority of society cannot, so they must be imprisoned. The deadline for paying monetary fines is 10 days after the final verdict, and if not paid, the accused will be deprived of services such as issuance or renewal of passports, vehicle registration or re-registration, issuance of permits to leave the country, release of impounded vehicles, and issuance or renewal of driver’s licenses. Mona, a 15-year-old girl, says that with the announcement of the law and fines, her father said he is not willing to pay the fine if imposed because the fine of three million tomans is more than his salary.
Nasrin Sotoudeh and Sedigheh Vasmaghi, women’s movement activists, have stated in a declaration that while two years have passed since the Women, Life, Freedom movement, various government agencies have now joined forces to present mandatory hijab in a ridiculous display as a medieval law known as hijab and chastity.
It Matters Who the President Is
Masoud Pezeshkian explicitly opposed the morality police and mandatory hijab during his election campaign, and at that time, the slogan ‘It matters who the president is’ became active. The Sazandegi newspaper wrote on the front page of its December 3 issue with the headline ‘Promise Fulfilled’ asking whether the president will adhere to his promises or implement the hijab and chastity bill.
Simultaneously with the publication of the law, some women reacted to it, including Neda, a theater director, who protested against this law by publishing her photo without hijab. Maryam Lotfi, a social journalist, wrote on the X network that Romina Ashrafi’s father was sentenced to 9 years for deliberately killing his daughter, and Mona Heydari’s husband was sentenced to eight years and two months for beheading her. However, according to the hijab law, sending films or photos regarding hijab to individuals or foreign media carries a sentence of two to five years for the first time, and in case of repetition, five to 10 years of imprisonment along with a fine of 330 to 500 million tomans. This fine also applies to media, which cannot collaborate or interview with those who have previously appeared with optional hijab.
With the publication of the hijab law over the past three days, it has received numerous criticisms to the extent that Sakineh Sadat Pad, the President’s assistant in pursuing social rights and freedoms, wrote on the X network that rushing to implement a law that even among jurists, legal experts, literati, psychologists, sociologists, and people is debatable is not in accordance with wisdom and rationality.
A good law has social acceptance. She has requested Mr. Pezeshkian to convene a meeting of the heads of the three branches. Ali Larijani, advisor to Iran’s leader, also said that a law that cannot convince the people cannot be implemented and is only a law on paper.
Azar Mansouri, head of the Reform Front, also considers this law a failure and wrote on the X network, ‘Do you remember dear Mahsa’s attire before her arrest? Compare her attire with the average attire of Iranian women today to see the dimensions of this failure more clearly.’ Abbas Akhoundi, a reformist activist, wrote in a letter to Mr. Pezeshkian that fundamental issues with the resolution cannot be fixed with amendments and should be referred to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, as a problem or power dispute for his approval to annul the resolution. Emphasis on segregating spaces specific to women and men in hospital, university sections, and even allocating a percentage of recreational areas to women is another part of the chastity law.
According to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Parliament, this law will be announced to the President on December 14 to be signed and announced according to Article 123 of the Constitution. He has five days to sign it and then must notify the executors. So far, Mr. Pezeshkian has not reacted to this law, so it is not yet clear whether it matters who the president is or not. He has until December 19 to make a decision on this matter.
