Iranian state media has highlighted stories of cafes and other businesses being forced to close for failing to enforce dress codes. A CNN review of Iranian media articles late last month found cases in multiple cities, including Tehran.
A cultural divide in Iran has resurfaced in recent months, amid the turmoil of the war and the restructuring of the country’s hardline leadership, as well as whether to enforce the hijab on women.
At the height of the conflict with the United States this year, women without headscarves were frequently seen at pro-government rallies and in state media. The government and internal security forces had bigger issues to deal with. In one video, a headscarfless woman, holding an Iranian flag, said that her husband was in the army and that she was proud of him. But in recent weeks, calls have grown for a tougher approach to what conservative clerics and politicians call “public nudity.” Many Iranian women are openly flouting the rule, and the authorities seem reluctant to launch a crackdown, at least for now. The regime seems to have more pressing priorities: framing the conflict with the United States as an existential confrontation, managing the dire economic consequences, and reorganizing the security apparatus under the leadership of Mojtaba Khamenei.
However, state media has highlighted stories of cafes and other businesses being forced to close for failing to enforce dress codes. A CNN review of Iranian media articles late last month found cases in multiple cities, including Tehran.
Four years ago, the “Women, Life, Freedom” protest movement erupted after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amin, a young woman who had been detained on charges of not dressing properly. The protest was brutally suppressed. Amnesty International reported in late 2024 that Iranian authorities were waging a war on women and girls “through an increasingly violent campaign against those who challenge strict laws on compulsory veiling.” But the protests had long-term consequences. Despite repeated warnings and sporadic enforcement of the rules, there is widespread defiance of official regulations, particularly among young Iranian women.
On July 19, at least seven cafes and restaurants in Tehran were closed for not enforcing the hijab requirement, according to the human rights organization HRANA. The organization has also compiled lists of social media accounts that have been blocked for defying public dress codes.
HRANA said authorities were using vague concepts such as “violation of norms,” “violation of modesty” and “disrespect for Islamic decency” to prosecute suspects. But in one case this month, the organization said a boutique was closed “due to removing the headscarf,” without providing further details. On Monday, the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office said it would take serious action against alleged “indecency” violations and violations at several cafes and restaurants in Tehran, as well as against stores selling clothing deemed “unconventional” or inappropriate. In the province of South Khorasan, in eastern Iran, 10 cafes have been closed for alleged violations of “social norms and mandatory rules on the hijab,” the Mehr news agency reported, citing the provincial prosecutor general. The relentless state media campaign on the issue often quotes religious leaders, who insist that the hijab is part of Iranian cultural identity and that women should respect modesty.
ALLEGATION OF DISFAIRYTALE
Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, who leads Friday prayers in Tehran, claimed that there were organized efforts to promote “nudity” and that some people were paid to appear in public in “inappropriate” clothing.
There have also been a few high-profile cases. In June, the famous Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi, along with eight members of her band and production team, were sentenced in Qom to 74 lashes and banned from leaving the country for two years. Ahmadi had appeared with her shoulders and hair uncovered at an event she live-streamed on her YouTube channel in 2024. The charges included “harming public morals by producing and publishing vulgar and immoral content on cyber platforms.” Hard-line conservatives are increasing pressure on the authorities. The editor of Kayhan magazine, Hossein Shariatmadari, wrote that enforcing the rules is both a legal obligation and a religious duty for officials.
A television show, “Park Way,” produced for the Tehran Municipality, has devoted several episodes to the issue of women’s dress, calling for action against those who do not respect the approved dress codes. One of them stated that “unconventional behavior should not be displayed by anyone in public places, such as parks.”
Women have also mobilized to demand that the hijab be worn. At a small rally in Isfahan this week, a banner read: “Netanyahu: Women without headscarves are our free soldiers.” Netanyahu is not documented as having made such a statement, but the slogan reflects a broader narrative promoted by hardline Iranian conservatives, who portray women who do not wear the hijab as, at the very least, disloyal to their country. But there is ample evidence that many Iranian women are not intimidated by official campaigns. Videos have appeared on social media of young women riding scooters, wearing helmets but not headscarves. The government has yet to fulfill its promise to issue women with motorcycle licenses.
The videos include columns of young women on scooters riding through Tehran and other cities. In an Instagram post, one group of women declares: “We are the motorcycle girls of Shiraz! Girls of Shiraz, let’s go!” Another Instagram account posted a video of about 20 women riding motorcycles in the central city of Isfahan, describing it as “the biggest women’s motorcycle event in Isfahan.”
WRONG PRIORITY
As with many social and cultural issues in Iran, wearing the hijab seems to some to be a misplaced priority in a time of conflict and economic crisis. President Masoud Pezeshkian seems to be included in this group. Referring to an interview with a conservative cleric, he said: “The cleric mentioned the hijab… Well, there are neighborhoods, there are mosques – go and deal with it there! Can you really change people’s behavior through laws?”
Pezeshkian went on to say that his daughter sometimes disagreed with him. “Does that mean I have to force her?!” he asked. “Behavior change is a cultural issue, it’s about persuasion. You can’t create persuasion in people through force,” he added. Former MP Gholamali Jafarzadeh Imanabadi argued that officials should focus on inflation and the economic well-being of the people, rather than the hijab. Meanwhile, an unofficial media outlet published an article titled: “Provocation to a war-weary population – what’s behind the return of hijab patrols and business closures?”
Iranian authorities began requiring women to wear the hijab after the 1979 revolution. Before that, the monarchy had promoted a more secular and Westernized image of women. Article 638 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code criminalizes women appearing in public without the “Islamic headscarf,” although it does not define precisely what that means. A much harsher law, passed in 2024, would have imposed a broader system of escalating penalties and surveillance, but its implementation was suspended after the Supreme National Security Council intervened. This has angered hard-line conservatives. An Iranian member of parliament, Mohammad-Taqi Naqdali, said this week: “We are seeing the state of nudity and public vice among us… Israel and America cannot destroy us, but this rot that has affected our religious culture and is spreading nudity in a catastrophic and widespread way in society will destroy us.”
But the regime is being cautious, at least for now. “They still don’t dare to say anything to people on the street. Girls in Tehran go out and walk around in short tops, shorts and all kinds of clothes, and headscarves are practically no longer a part of life,” a woman in her 60s from Tehran told CNN by phone. “I don’t think they can force these girls to wear headscarves again. But then again, that’s what we thought when the revolution happened. We never thought they could force us to wear them, but in the end, they did,” she said. (CNN)