Hijab: A Red Line That Is Fading
Hijab: A Red Line That Is Fading – The opinion of Ansieh Khazali, the advisor on women’s affairs to the President, regarding hijab and likening it to a woman’s seatbelt, although a new statement, is not the first time that officials of the Islamic Republic have addressed the issue of hijab with their specific governmental rhetoric.
Officials of the Islamic Republic, in an effort to preserve one of the indisputable pillars of their revolution and following the advice of Ayatollah Khomeini, are trying to encourage women to adhere to religious dress codes. However, in doing so, they draw the sting of criticism due to the lack of support from thought and rationality.
Hijab has repeatedly been introduced as a red line by the government, but a red line that these days is not being observed in the city and its redness has diminished. Nevertheless, officials, without observing the streets of the city, continue to insist on their own stance.
The comparison of hijab to a seatbelt is the latest comment from one of these officials. However, before this, Hoseini Kia, a representative from Kermanshah, said in an interview, ‘Have you ever seen anyone put a crow in a cage and take it home? No, but you often see nightingales and lovebirds in cages. The enemy seeks to create a foggy atmosphere where the deer’s hands and feet are tied, and the wolves are free.’
Seyed Reza Akrami, a member of the central council of the Combatant Clergy Association, also likened a woman’s hijab to the skin of a fruit. ‘Anything valuable is covered,’ he said. ‘Jewelry stores are like fruit shops. They sell jewels in showcases, not like bananas and grapes without any covering.’
It is not only these comments from officials that direct the arrows of criticism towards the Islamic Republic. In the realm of urban and media advertising, the government also has a hand in the fire. Women have often encountered surprising phrases on billboards in the streets and city areas, such as ‘Water is the source of life, and hijab is the source of salvation,’ or the familiar comparison of hijab to a perfume bottle cap, which is also seen in government-written advertisements. ‘Hijab is like the cap of a perfume bottle that preserves the fragrance, beauty, and freshness of women, and removing the hijab destroys that beauty and freshness.’
In this context, the field of culture and publishing is not devoid of hijab-related advertisements. In a book titled ‘Girls and Harassments,’ written by someone named Mahmoud Akbari, it is stated, ‘As long as a fruit has its skin, it will last a long time, but when 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 chastity, they enjoy freshness, beauty, and health.’
If we set aside the individual comments of officials, the Islamic Republic, relying on the ratification of the Islamic Penal Code, has made the pressure and enforcement of women’s hijab a priority. According to this law, the punishment for not observing hijab is 74 lashes.
This ruling has remained in place, and to complete and assist in its enforcement, the Guidance Patrol has also rushed to the aid of those in favor of mandatory hijab. The Guidance Patrol, which has been under criticism for years, ultimately took on a less prominent role after the death of Mahsa Amini.
However, if we take a look at society and examine the documents of the internal organs of the Islamic Republic, we will see that according to the survey by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, 70% of Iranian society opposes the obligation of hijab.
Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic, alongside the Taliban government, continues to emphasize the enforcement of mandatory women’s hijab. In 2019, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of the Islamic Republic, declared that the red line of the regime is being unveiled and improperly veiled.
After that, with the killing of Mahsa Amini and the protests of Iranian women for the right to freedom of dress, high and low-ranking government officials repeatedly insisted on the regime’s red line, which is hijab, and have not retreated from this decision so far.
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