Friday, March 21, 2025
Enforcement of the country’s dress code is practically non-existent. The regime seems to have reached an agreement that it would be best for all if the authorities just pretend there is no problem.
The Pezeshkian Administration has said publicly it will not enforce the dress code. Most conservatives although not the hardest of the hardliners have turned mum. And Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi has said nothing about the issue in many weeks, telegraphing that he has no problem with the Pezeshkian policy. Only the hardliners are screaming. And nobody is paying any attention to them.
The Majlis passed a new law on enforcement last year and the 12-man Council of Guardians approved the text last fall. But Pezeshkian has refused to publish the law in the official Gazette, which is required before a law can be enforced. The speaker of the Majlis was given the authority to post laws to the Gazette several years ago after a previous president declined to post some laws. But current Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf has refused to send the hejab law to the Gazette.
The police are not seen enforcing the law on the streets. Reports of occasional scuffles between police officers and uncovered women have not been heard in weeks. However, the police did act in one blatant case in which all the women on stage for an architectural awards ceremony peared hejabless. A video circulated on social media and the Tehran prosecutor complained.
The police chief then announced that all those involved were “dealt with promptly.” He did not say how they were dealt with. At the Majlis, which is dominated by the hard right, some 209 deputies or 72 percent of the membership were said to have signed a petition urging Qalibaf to publish the “Hejab and Chastity Law.” Qalibaf has so far remained mum. But Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, did not re[1]main mum.
He issued a statement saying, “I call again on the authorities to repeal the law fully and permanently, along with all other laws and practices that discriminate against women and girls.” However, such an action would go against the clear consensus that the best way to deal with the issue is silence.
In mid-December, Shahram Dabiri, the vice president for parliamentary affairs, announced that the Pezeshkian Administration was in the process of drafting an entirely new hejab law. But on January 7, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said no alternative legislation was even under consideration for now.
Mum is the word. On March 5, Pezeshkian broke the official silence, saying, “I cannot enforce the Hejab and Chastity Law because it creates problems for people, and I will not stand against the people.” Or the Supreme Leader.