Hijab: A Red Line That Is Fading
Hijab: A Red Line That Is Fading – An opinion by Ansieh Khazali, the President’s advisor on women’s affairs, regarding hijab and its analogy to a woman’s seatbelt, although a new perspective, is not the first time that officials of the Islamic Republic have presented the issue of hijab with their specific governmental rhetoric.
Officials of the Islamic Republic, in an effort to preserve one of the undeniable pillars of their revolution and following the advice of Ayatollah Khomeini, are attempting to encourage women to adhere to religious attire. However, in doing so, they invite criticism due to the lack of thoughtful and rational backing.
Hijab has often been introduced as a red line by the government, but a red line that these days is not being respected in the city and its intensity has diminished. Yet, without observing the city streets, officials persistently stick to their stance.
The analogy of hijab to a seatbelt is the latest comment by one of these officials. However, before this, Hosseini Kia, a representative from Kermanshah, stated in an interview that you have never seen anyone put a crow in a cage and bring it home, but you often see nightingales and lovebirds in cages. The enemy seeks to create a foggy environment where the deer’s feet are tied, and the wolves are free.
Seyed Reza Akrami, a member of the Central Council of the Combatant Clergy Association, also likened women’s hijab to the skin of a fruit. Anything valuable is covered. Jewelry stores are like fruit shops; they sell jewels in showcases, not like bananas and grapes offered without any covering.
It is not only these officials’ comments that draw criticism towards the Islamic Republic. In the realm of urban and media advertising, the government also plays a role. Women have repeatedly encountered surprising statements on billboards in the streets and city, such as ‘Water is the source of life, and hijab is the source of salvation,’ or the analogy of hijab to a perfume cap, a familiar comparison that appears in the government’s written advertisements. Hijab is like the cap of a perfume bottle that preserves the pleasant scent, beauty, and freshness of women, and removing the hijab eliminates that beauty and freshness.
In this context, the field of culture and publishing is not devoid of propaganda regarding hijab. In a book titled ‘Girls and Harassment,’ written by an individual named Mahmoud Akbari, it is stated that as long as a fruit has its skin, it will last for a long time, but once the skin is removed, it will not last more than a few minutes. Hijab is like the skin of a fruit that preserves the freshness and health of the fruit. As long as they have this hijab and modesty, they enjoy freshness, beauty, and health.
If we set aside the individual opinions of officials, the Islamic Republic, relying on the Islamic Penal Code, has made the pressure and enforcement of women’s hijab a priority. According to this law, the penalty for not observing hijab is 74 lashes.
This penalty has remained in place, and to aid its implementation, the morality police have joined the supporters of mandatory hijab. The morality police, which have been under criticism for years, ultimately took on a less prominent role following the death of Mahsa Amini.
However, if we look at society and examine the documents of internal organs of the Islamic Republic, we will see that according to a survey by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, 70% of Iran’s society opposes the obligation of hijab.
Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic, alongside the Taliban government, continues to emphasize the enforcement of mandatory hijab for women. In 2019, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the prosecutor of the Islamic Republic, declared that the red line of the regime is improper hijab or lack thereof.
Following this, with the death of Mahsa Amini and the protests of Iranian women for the right to freedom of dress, lower and higher-ranking government officials repeatedly insisted on the government’s red line, which is hijab, and have not retreated from this decision so far.
- Morality Police or the Chariot of Death
- The Crime of the Morality Police in Raisi’s Government
- The End of the Honeymoon of Optional Hijab