Iran’s cultural fault lines have resurfaced in recent months amid the turmoil of war and the shake-up of the country’s hardline leadership. The question is how and whether to force women to wear the hijab.
Women without headscarves have often been seen at pro-government rallies and in state media this year as the conflict with the United States intensifies. The government and internal security forces had larger problems to deal with.
In one video, a woman at the unveiling ceremony holding an Iranian flag said her husband was a soldier and she was proud of him.
But in recent weeks, there have been growing calls from conservative clergy and politicians to reinstate a hard line on what they call “public nudity.”
Many Iranian women openly flout this rule, and authorities have so far appeared cautious about cracking down. The regime appears to have more pressing priorities, presenting the conflict with the United States as an existential struggle, managing the severe economic fallout, and restructuring the security apparatus under the leadership of Mojtaba Khamenei.
Still, state media has featured stories of cafes and other businesses being forced to close for failing to comply with dress rules. CNN compiled Iranian media articles from late last month and found examples in six cities, including Tehran.
Four years ago, the Freedom for Women’s Life protest movement erupted after Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was detained on suspicion of inappropriate clothing, died in police custody. It was brutally suppressed.
Amnesty International reported in late 2024 that Iranian authorities were waging war on women and girls “through an increasingly violent crackdown on those who defy strict compulsory veiling laws.”
But the protests had a lasting impact. Despite warnings and sporadic crackdowns, defiance of official regulations is widespread, particularly among young Iranian women.
On July 19, at least seven cafes and restaurants in Tehran were closed for failing to comply with hijab requirements, according to human rights group HRANA. The group also compiled a list of social media accounts that have been blocked for violating public dress codes.
HRANA said authorities use vague concepts such as “violation of norms,” ”violation of modesty” and “failure to observe Islamic etiquette” when pursuing suspects. But in one case this month, the company said a boutique had closed “for public unveiling,” without providing further details.
The Tehran Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday that it would take serious action against alleged “obscene” violations in certain cafes and restaurants in Tehran, as well as stores selling clothing deemed “unconventional” or inappropriate.
Ten cafes in Iran’s eastern province of South Khorasan have been shut down for allegedly violating “social norms and the obligatory hijab regulations,” Mehr news agency reported, citing the province’s chief prosecutor.
A relentless state media campaign on the issue often quotes prayer leaders who say the hijab is part of Iran’s cultural identity and that women should observe modesty.
Mohammad Javad Haji Ali Akbari, who leads Friday prayers in Tehran, claimed there was a systematic effort to promote “nudity” and that some people were paid to appear in public in “inappropriate” clothing.
There have been several high-profile incidents. In June, popular Iranian singer Paratou Ahmadi, along with eight members of his band and production team, was sentenced to 74 rubber lashes and banned from leaving the country for two years. Ahmadi appeared with bare shoulders and no hair exposed at an event livestreamed on his YouTube channel in 2024.
The charges included “violating public order and morals through the production and publication of vulgar and immoral content on cyberspace platforms.”
Hard-liners are increasing pressure on authorities. Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the journal Kayhan, wrote that enforcement is both a legal and a religious obligation for officials.
Park Way, a television program produced for the city of Tehran, devoted several episodes to the issue of women’s dress and called for action against those who ignore the approved dress code. One said: “No one should behave unconventionally in public places such as parks.”
Women also mobilized to demand the wearing of the hijab. At a small rally in Isfahan this week, a placard read: “Prime Minister Netanyahu: Unveiled women are our unpaid soldiers.”
Although there is no record of Prime Minister Netanyahu ever making such a statement, the slogan reflects a broader discourse promoted by Iranian hardliners, which portrays women who do not wear the hijab as at least disloyal to their homeland.
But there is plenty of evidence that many Iranian women are not intimidated by the official campaign.
A video posted on social media showed a young woman riding a scooter wearing a helmet and no headscarf. The government has not yet fulfilled its promise to issue motorcycle riding licenses to women.
The video shows a convoy of young women on scooters driving through Tehran and other cities. An Instagram post features a group of women proclaiming, “We are Shiraz bike girls! Shiraz girls, let’s go!”
Another Instagram account posted a video of about 20 female motorcyclists in the central city of Isfahan, describing them as “Isfahan’s biggest female motorcyclists.”
Like many social and cultural issues in Iran, hijab-wearing seems to have become a misplaced priority during times of conflict and economic crisis.
President Masoud Pezeshkian is said to be among them. He referred to an interview with a conservative cleric and said, “The cleric mentioned the hijab…Well, there are neighborhoods, there are mosques. Go out there and work on it! Can laws really change people’s behavior?”
Pezeshkian went on to say that his daughter sometimes disagrees with him.
“Does that mean I need to force her?!” he asked.
“Changing behavior is a matter of culture, it’s a matter of belief. You can’t create belief in people by force.”
Former lawmaker Gholamali Jafarzadeh Imanabadi argued that officials should focus on inflation and livelihoods rather than the hijab.
And unofficial media published an article titled “Provocation to a war-weary population – what’s behind the return of Hijab patrols and business closures?”
Iranian authorities first began encouraging women to wear the hijab after the 1979 revolution. Before that, the monarchy promoted a more secular and Westernized image of women.
Article 638 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code criminalizes women appearing in public without wearing the “Islamic hijab,” but exactly what that means is not defined. A tougher law approved in 2024 would have introduced a far-reaching system of tougher penalties and oversight, but its implementation was halted following intervention from the Supreme National Security Council.
This prompted a backlash from hard-liners. Mohammad Taqi Naqdari, a member of Iran’s parliament, said this week: “We are witnessing the state of nudity and public vice among us. Israel and America cannot destroy us, but this corruption that plagues our religious culture and spreads nudity so tragically and widely in our society will destroy us.”
But the administration is treading cautiously for now.
“They still can’t say anything to people on the street. Girls in Tehran go out wearing crop tops, shorts, all kinds of clothes, and scarves almost don’t exist anymore,” a woman in her 60s in Tehran told CNN by phone.
“I don’t think they can force girls to wear scarves again. But again, that’s what we thought when the revolution happened. We didn’t think they could force us to wear scarves, but in the end they did.”
