No hijab in the bank, yes in national team’s celebration
The publication of images showing unveiled women in Tehran and Doha celebrating the national team’s victory in official and government-affiliated news agencies like ISNA, IRNA, and Tasnim has caused an uproar. This comes just two months after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the morality police despite wearing a headscarf and a long coat, and later died.
The release of these images is met with shock, anger, and protest, especially since the cause of all recent events, which have led to the death and imprisonment of dozens, was the protest against the actions of the morality police, actions that resulted in the death of a person.
It seems the issue has gone beyond double standards, and the matter of hijab has become a tool in the hands of conservatives to justify any goal, whatever it may be.
In moments like elections, ceremonial marches, or the national team’s victory, the presence and publication of images of women with poor or no hijab not only become acceptable but are even celebrated. Yet, at the same time, official platforms speak against women and call for stricter enforcement. Government officials are threatened with action and dismissal if they ignore the hijab and chastity law, and the cultural hijab of women in society has no place in national media.
Some believe that freedom of dress and hijab in the country has been silently accepted, citing the lack of action against unveiled women frequently seen on the streets or the publication of such images in official news agencies as evidence. Meanwhile, there are other signs that question this perception or belief.
Hijab as a tool of power
For conservatives, hijab is neither a religious nor a legal matter. It is merely a tool to control women’s agency and display it in a way they desire, determining where and when women can appear with or without hijab in public spaces. It is a tool because the permission and possibility of publishing images of unveiled women only occur during national team victory celebrations and not at other times. If similar images are published at other times, they are certainly accompanied by criticism and attack.
It is a tool because, simultaneously, a citizen can publish a video of an unveiled woman in a bank branch in Qom, where the bank employee provides services to her like any ordinary citizen, leading to the dismissal of the bank manager and the announcement that the crackdown on managers has started with hijab. Yet, a few kilometers away, images of the same unveiled women and girls on the street are published in official government media without causing any disturbance.
It is a tool because, alongside this leniency, a member of parliament says that hijab is not a subject the government will retreat from, suggesting that instead of judicial confrontation by the morality police, other punitive measures like social deprivation should be pursued. The head of the parliamentary judiciary committee also suggests profiling unveiled women for fines.
Hijab and the double standard of censorship
Mohsen Hesam Mazaheri, a researcher in the field of religion, analyzes the situation optimistically and without suspicion, writing that no matter how stubbornly you deny the realities of society, eventually, they impose themselves. Media that, just two months ago, were reporting and publishing about intensifying penalties for improper hijab, drafting restrictive laws, increasing control over dress codes, and even imposing fines and depriving improperly dressed individuals of civil rights.
A journalist from reformist newspapers, pointing out that collective joy is a right for all people, writes that he doesn’t understand the message behind the media publishing images of unveiled women. Does it mean hijab is no longer mandatory? Has the law changed?
Government and official media are not bound by the mandatory censorship that we face in our media. I lack the power to interpret, explain, or analyze. Please tell me straightforwardly what has happened. It is very important for us Iranian citizens and for Mahsa Amini’s family as well.
All this while the CEO of IRNA, where some of these images of unveiled women were published, was previously the editor of Rajanews, a hardline conservative media outlet that defends mandatory hijab, opposes women entering stadiums, and supports the morality police. The site of Hamshahri newspaper also welcomed the affair with the headline ‘Iranian women’s celebration in the stadium with diverse dress,’ from a chador-wearing girl with the Iranian flag to an unveiled girl with the map of Iran. This is while the editor-in-chief of this newspaper, Abdollah Ganji, was previously the editor-in-chief of the conservative Javan newspaper. The images of Iranian national team fans in today’s game against Wales were noteworthy.
Hamshahri wrote that all Iranian women, whether veiled or unveiled, tied the flag of the Islamic Republic on their shoulders.
The double standard approach of conservatives towards the issue of hijab has become so ironic that some say it might not be surprising if, in the future, removing the hijab is presented as an achievement of the Raisi government. Before Friday, September 16, 2022, there was no Friday prayer podium that didn’t talk about women’s hijab, but it seems that critics of lax hijab and unveiling in these two months, during which we have witnessed an unprecedented increase in unveiling in society, have turned a blind eye.
In this regard, we recommend Iran Gate’s exclusive report and analysis.
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