Iran judiciary calls for tougher stance on women not covering their hair

Iranian judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has called for stricter methods to tackle “social anomalies,” local media reports, pointing in particular to more relaxed attitudes towards wearing the mandatory hijab.

Under rules imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution, all women in Iran must cover their hair in public with a hijab, or headscarf, and wear modest, loose-fitting clothing.

But in major cities, particularly Tehran, many women now walk around without the head coverings, often sporting jeans and sneakers, which has become a point of contention for conservatives.

“I have ordered the prosecutor general and all prosecutors in the country to ask the security and law enforcement agencies to identify organized and foreign-related movements in the field of social anomalies and introduce them to the judiciary,” Ejei is quoted as saying by the newspaper Etemad.

“One manifestation of the enemy’s efforts lies in the issue of nudity and not observing hijab.”

The term “nudity” generally refers to clothing deemed inappropriate.

This phenomenon of forgoing the hijab has become more visible in Iran since the protests that followed the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022.