The End of the Honeymoon for Optional Hijab
The End of the Honeymoon for Optional Hijab: Stricter Measures Against Unveiled Women. While some believe that the issue of mandatory hijab in Iran is nearing its end and that official institutions are quietly backing down and gradually accepting the situation of optional hijab in the streets, there are concerns about stricter measures against unveiled women.
The Attorney General announced that the hijab issue would be resolved by the end of December, while voices from within the conservative parliament suggest stricter action against those who do not adhere to hijab.
The Attorney General stated that the parliament and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution are working on and studying the hijab issue, and the results will be clear in 15 days. These decisions should be made with prudence.
Prudent Intensification
The prevailing perception is that there is no end to the retreat; one step back equals ten steps forward for the other side. The statements heard so far from within the parliament and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution do not indicate leniency or backing down on the hijab issue. Instead, they suggest a tendency to use other control methods, methods that appear less harsh but have a greater impact on people’s lives.
One parliament member stated that during the reviews, it was realized that the initial punishments under Article 637 of the Islamic Penal Code regarding the lack of adherence to modesty and hijab are not suitable for today’s times and are ineffective. Furthermore, there was a need to make the law effective in deterrence, requiring punishments that would deter and lead individuals towards behavioral correction.
The representative from Babol also said that decisive action against cultural norm-breakers who have adopted nudity should be taken more than ever before, and there should be no retreat from enforcing the chastity and hijab law that has been neglected for 17 years.
Social Deprivation Punishments Await Unveiled Women
The recurring theme of recent statements is one thing: social deprivations. Anabestani, another parliament representative whose incident of slapping a traffic officer caused a scandal, also stated that since hijab is a law and some have violated it, service providers do not need legislation or directives to deny services to these individuals.
Therefore, a service provider should not give services to someone who does not observe hijab. I believe unveiled individuals should be deprived of receiving social services.
Zohreh Sadat Lajvardi, another representative, made a similar statement. If there are deficiencies in our laws regarding hijab, these should be addressed. Perhaps this punishment will lead to social deprivation rather than judicial action, meaning it would be considered an infraction rather than a crime, with social deprivation as a consequence, without the need for coercive measures. However, it cannot be stated definitively because there are legal gaps.
The new Islamic Penal Code, ratified in 2013, removed the definition of social rights and only mentioned twelve instances of social rights in Article 26, which are as follows:
- Candidacy in presidential elections, the Assembly of Experts, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and city and village councils.
- Membership in the Guardian Council, the Expediency Discernment Council, or the cabinet and holding a vice-presidency.
- Presidency of the judiciary, Attorney General, head of the Supreme Court, head of the Administrative Justice Court.
- Membership in associations, councils, parties, and societies whose members are elected by law or by public vote.
- Membership in juries, trustees, and dispute resolution councils.
- Employment as a managing director or editor-in-chief of mass media.
- Employment or occupation in all government agencies, including the three branches and their affiliated organizations and companies, the radio and television, the armed forces, and other institutions under the leadership, municipalities, and institutions tasked with public services, and those agencies that require explicit mention or naming.
- Employment as a lawyer or holding official positions in notary offices, marriage and divorce registration, and notary assistance.
- Being elected as a guardian, trustee, overseer, or manager of public endowments.
- Being elected as an arbitrator or expert in official references.
- Using state emblems and honorary titles.
- Establishing an administration or membership in the board of directors of state, cooperative, and private companies, or registering a commercial name or educational, research, cultural, and scientific institution.
Mandatory Hijab: A Minority’s Demand
Recently, a group of fewer than 50 women in Rey gathered at Shah Abdol-Azim to protest the hijab situation. All these women wore black chadors, most had face veils, and they held placards and chanted slogans.
Abdolreza Davari, former media advisor to Ahmadinejad, tweeted an analysis stating that the population of women over 15 in Rey is 76,000, and these women don’t even make up one percent of this population. He calculated that only two out of every 10,000 people participated in this sit-in.
On Thursday, December 1, a gathering of women and girls was held at Shiroudi Stadium under the name ‘Women for Iran,’ which could be better described as the instrumental use of veiled women to maintain power. This gathering, held on the pretext of Nurse’s Day and the birth of Hazrat Zainab, was more about showcasing the power of veiled women against others.
The style of eulogizing and the excitement it aroused indicated a challenge, stirring the emotions of veiled women against the unveiled who have recently taken over the streets.
Although this gathering was large and enthusiastic, it is important to note that the women on the other side have never had the opportunity or permission to gather and show their strength. Those more visible on the streets of Tehran are actually the opposing spectrum and, with these displays of power, they are not considered significant by the authorities.
Some say this gathering, alongside the sit-in by some chador-wearing women at the Abdol-Azim shrine protesting the hijab situation and the murmurs of not backing down from the mandatory hijab law, is a prelude to the reintroduction of the morality police and the implementation of past policies under the guise of requests from veiled women to deal with the unveiled and to continue the mistaken path in the name of religion for Iran.