The authorities and conservative movements in Iran are intensifying social pressure on women who reject the compulsory hijab, after it has become difficult to re-impose the level of field supervision that existed before the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests that broke out in mid-September 2022, following the death of the young woman Mahsa Amini, who was 22 years old at the time, while she was being held by the “moral police” or what is called in Iran as “Gasht Irshad” on charges of not adhering to the rules of the compulsory hijab.
Instead of relying mainly on the patrols of what is known as the “moral police,” a force established in 2005 to enforce the law in Iran by arresting those who violate the dress code or who wear “inappropriate clothing,” pressure has begun to appear in a new way, this time from within workplaces, stores, and some other places, along with social and economic campaigns on the Internet targeting women who do not adhere to the dress code imposed by the state.
"Social deviations"... a new title for the oppression of women
In this context, the head of the judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, recently called for measures to be taken against what he described as “social deviations,” “obscenity,” and “nudity,” calling on prosecutors to coordinate with the police, security and intelligence agencies, and state institutions.
At the same time, supporters of imposing the hijab launched online campaigns calling on citizens to avoid dealing with stores run by women who do not adhere to the official dress code, as a type of pressure exerted within workplaces, stores, service institutions, and in the details of daily life.
The electronic campaigns were called "conscious buying", that is, directing consumers to support female sellers and business owners who adhere to the hijab, and avoid women who do not adhere to the state's rules.
An Iranian lawyer in Tehran, who spoke to DW anonymously for security reasons, believes that these campaigns may lead to deepening social divisions rather than enhancing adherence to a certain social standard.
The lawyer said that the matter represented "a deliberate attempt to categorize people based on their identity and pit them against each other."
She also believes that using economic pressure against people simply because of their appearance overrides the individual's right to choose where he wants to shop.
She said: “When economic sanctions are imposed on the regime, they call it pressure, injustice, and economic war. But when they use the same logic internally to force part of society to change its behavior, it becomes ‘support for values’.”
She also questioned the assumption that women who adhere to a specific style of dress alone represent the values of Iranian society.
“The reality of Iranian society is much more complex than that,” she said.
Some publications and accounts of some Iranian women on social media reported that they were prevented from entering clinics or banks because they were not wearing a head covering.
When a woman's body becomes a political issue
Shirin Shams, an Iranian political activist in exile and director of the Women's Revolution Organization, believes that the recent campaigns targeting women who abandon the mandatory hijab aim to revive social divisions that weakened during the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement.
The organization headed by Shams calls for secularism, women's liberation and human rights in Iran. Shams, who lives in Germany, said, “The Islamic Republic has tried for years to divide women according to their clothing.”
For her, the mandatory hijab represents one of the most important ideological lines of the Iranian state. She believes that the widespread prevalence of women appearing in public places without a head covering reveals how far social reality is from official expectations.
Shams believes that the new campaigns are not related to clothing alone, but rather about trying to redraw social boundaries between women who comply with the rules and women who reject them.
A broader struggle over control of society
As for Saeed Bawandi, a professor at the University of Lorraine in France, he believes that the conflict over the hijab reflects a broader confrontation over social control. He told DW that Iranian authorities have spent years distinguishing between women who are considered "properly veiled" and those whom authorities classify as "badly veiled" or "non-veiled."
He added: "The government is once again turning women's bodies into a social, moral, and even security issue."
According to Boundy, a woman who appears without a head covering should not be interpreted as just someone making a personal decision about her appearance. In the eyes of some circles of the political establishment, this woman could become a symbol of a visible challenge to the existing ideological order.
Enforcing the hijab without the “moral police”
While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has repeatedly spoken of social cohesion and national unity, conservative judicial officials and politicians continue to call for stricter enforcement of the dress code, revealing discrepancies within the Iranian political establishment itself.
Boundy believes that direct coercion has reached its limits, and that supporters of so-called “Islamic dress” rules are looking for alternative means to force women to comply. This may shift part of the responsibility for enforcing rules from state institutions to society itself.
A bank employee, a clinic receptionist, an employer, a store owner, or even a customer can become a party to enforcing these standards, even in the absence of any policeman.
This makes the boundaries between law, the discretion of individuals and institutions, and ideological pressure more ambiguous.
Boundy also warns that associating religion with humiliation, exclusion, and coercion may further distance Iranian youth from religious institutions. He adds that women who choose to wear the hijab may also find themselves in a confrontation they did not choose, if their clothing is presented as a sign of political loyalty.
