Have Iran鈥檚 hard-liners lost the battle over women鈥檚 headscarves?
| LONDON
The veteran schoolteacher will never forget the first time she broke Iranian law by venturing into public without her head covered, and felt the wind in her hair.
Widespread protests had been raging for three months, led by women and girls in an unprecedented wave of discontent that swept through scores of Iranian cities.
The catalyst was the mid-September death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by Iran鈥檚 so-called morality police, allegedly for showing too much hair.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onThe women-led protests that swept Iran last fall were brutally suppressed. But for a range of reasons 鈥� protesting the regime, reclaiming agency 鈥� women are ignoring laws requiring the hijab, creating a dilemma for hard-liners.
In response, Iranian women burned their headscarves in public and let their hair down. And 鈥� as the protests widened, with women and men together at the barricades facing a crackdown that reportedly left more than 500 dead and 20,000 detained聽鈥� they demanded the toppling of the Islamist regime.
鈥淚 went to a mall [with] tears in my eyes,鈥� says the primary school teacher, who gives the name Neda, recalling her first moments of breaking Iran鈥檚 strict hijab rules. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 describe the feeling of air going through my hair.鈥�
These days the 40-something professional routinely goes out with hair flowing: to the cafe, in the streets, and 鈥渆verywhere.鈥� 鈥淣ow in my country it鈥檚 like feeling free, and brave,鈥� Neda says. 鈥淎 year ago, we even did not think it could happen at all.鈥�
While the 鈥淲oman, Life, Freedom鈥� street protests were largely snuffed out months ago, and stricter hijab rules have been enacted, legions of Iranian women like Neda are still refusing to wear hijab in public. That has left Iranian hard-liners scrambling to find ways to stanch and reverse this enduring defiance, which they deem an existential threat to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Debate over enforcement
A new law now before Iran鈥檚 Majlis, or parliament, would impose heavier fines聽and add punishments like restricting access to bank accounts and confiscating vehicles, as well as up to three years in prison for breaking hijab rules. But the law, scheduled to be debated in July, also prohibits physical coercion on the street, something that has caused an uproar among hard-liners. They reject it as too lenient, though the law was drafted by the office of President Ebrahim Raisi and the judiciary, both of which are controlled by hard-liners.
The angry debate in the hard-line camp illustrates the depth of the challenge that the defiance poses to the Islamic Republic. First, by women鈥檚 widespread repudiation of what hard-liners see as the core revolutionary ideal of hijab. Then, more broadly, by rejection of intrusive social control over all aspects of life that the regime has exercised for 44 years.
鈥淭he impact of these laws remains to be seen,鈥� says Tara Sepehri-Far, a Washington-based Iran researcher for Human Rights Watch.
鈥淭here seems to be a debate within the establishment about how to enforce them in a way that doesn鈥檛 cause a lot of friction with the general public, the way that resulted in the death in custody of Mahsa Amini and the whole protest 鈥� but also keeps this [hijab] stranglehold, because this is very much a core issue for hard-liners,鈥� says Ms. Sepehri-Far.
While the authors of the new 鈥渃hastity and hijab鈥� law aim to strike a balance that avoids igniting more protests, others demand more 鈥渞obust鈥� deterrence that would include physically painful forms such as lashing.
Hard-line lawmaker Alireza Abbasi, for example, called June 10 for the hijab law to be written so 鈥渘o one would dare to remove their headscarves.鈥�
Indeed, in mid-June uniformed and聽plainclothes security forces again raided coffee shops in several cities and beat customers over hijab rules. And the police chief of a northern resort province was filmed telling a subordinate, 鈥淏reak the neck of anyone who breaks the [hijab] norms ... and I will take responsibility.鈥澛�
One argument put forward by hard-liners is that the defiance plays into the hands of Iran鈥檚 external enemies who, in the words of one influential ayatollah, want 鈥渢o rob us of the rule of religion.鈥�
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei set the tone in early April, when he declared that rejecting hijab was religiously and politically 鈥渇orbidden.鈥� The 鈥渕ajority鈥� of women who removed their headscarves, he said, were simple-minded and unaware that foreign spy agencies are operating 鈥渂ehind the scenes.鈥�
鈥淭hose [anti-hijab] campaigns seek to preoccupy the minds of our youths with sensual urges,鈥� warned Mr. Abbasi, 鈥渟o that they will have no room to pursue missiles, the nuclear program, and knowledge-based technology.鈥�
Still, protesting Iranian women from the start have rejected such claims of foreign meddling, just as they say any new law is incapable of reversing the achievements of their push for greater freedoms.
鈥淭his is a losing battle鈥�
The scale of hijab rejection varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, city to city. But support for compulsory hijab has been dropping at least since 2018, when the Center for Strategic Studies, under then-President Hassan Rouhani, a relatively moderate cleric, surveyed women and men about their views.
Officials and hard-liners with access to data 鈥渁re likely more aware than us about how much of a losing battle this [hijab] has been,鈥� says Ms. Sepehri-Far. 鈥淭his is a downward trend; this is a losing battle.鈥�
And for women who continue to refuse to wear the hijab in public 鈥� up to 70% in some districts of Tehran, according to anecdotal accounts 鈥� their reasons range from displaying discontent toward the regime to reclaiming agency over the dress code.
鈥淚t is much more nuanced and multilayered than just refusing to wear hijab. ... [It鈥檚] against a patriarchal society as well as a very abusive state,鈥� says Ms. Sepehri-Far. 鈥淲hat has changed and transformed is a very precious gain and understanding that I very much doubt can be reversed through these laws.鈥�
Stepping into the debate was the reformist former president,聽Mohammad Khatami, who sought to lessen hijab as an all-or-nothing revolutionary issue.
鈥淗ijab differs from chastity,鈥� Mr. Khatami told reformist women in Tehran. 鈥淲e do endorse a chastity-oriented society, but that does not mean that we should equate chastity with hijab, and impose the latter.鈥�
Those words sparked the ire of Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the hard-line聽Kayhan newspaper, who is appointed by the supreme leader and who lambasted Mr. Khatami as an 鈥渋gnorant, hateful, and populist cleric.鈥�
鈥淣ot wearing the hijab is equal to nudity, as it cannot end in removing the headscarf alone,鈥� wrote Mr. Shariatmadari.
鈥淐hange ... takes time鈥�
Such framing could not be further from the experience of women like Neda, who remains in awe of the scale of change she has witnessed. In a single week this month, the teacher has received three official warnings by text message to cover up, owing to traffic cameras that now flag license plate numbers with long-haired vehicle occupants.
鈥淚 can see these teen girls from the school near our house; they take off their hijab when they come out of school,鈥� says Neda. 鈥淪ome families don鈥檛 want to change and force their daughters to wear hijab. ... [But] you cannot find a place where all women have hijab or don鈥檛 have it. They have just learned to be in the same place with each other.鈥�
And she adds, 鈥淚 believe the younger generation is brave enough to change things, but it takes time.鈥�
That generation includes Nazanin, a 30-something architect who admits it is 鈥渞eally getting harder鈥� to not wear a headscarf, 鈥渂ecause it has become a symbol of civil disobedience, and you are not safe. All the time I feel like someone will come from behind my back and catch me.鈥�
She ticks off the risks for women, which include fines or arrest, being banned from leaving the country, and deprivation of the rights of citizenship, such as a license. Cars are threatened with confiscation. And Nazanin was recently refused a ride by a taxi driver, who said he would be fined if she rode without covering her hair.
But she also takes heart in the profound experience of the protests 鈥� and the hijab disobedience they solidified.
鈥淭hose days are not something that I can ever forget, a combination of sadness and fear, at the same time with a sense of hope, courage, and love for people,鈥� says Nazanin. The strangest thing, she says, was a first-ever feeling that the regime was 鈥渄efeatable鈥� and that 鈥減eople can still be influential.鈥�
鈥淭he most enjoyable part is that, despite all these brutalities, I see and experience so much courage,鈥� says Nazanin. Still, the problems are not solved, 鈥渟o there鈥檚 no reason for protests to end,鈥� she says.
鈥淧eople who become aware will not go back. ... The one who has experienced freedom cannot go back,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f there was no hope for change, so many people would not have risked their lives for it.
鈥淭he fire is just under the ashes, and ignites with the smallest spark.鈥�
An Iranian researcher contributed to this report.
