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Hijab in Iran, the traditional head covering worn by Muslim women for modesty for centuries, have been practiced as a compulsion supported by law in Iran after the 1979 revolution. [2] In the 1920s, a few women started to appear unveiled. Under Reza Shah, it was discouraged and then banned in 1936 for five years. Under Reza Shah's successor, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, hijab was considered "backward" and rarely worn by upper and middle-class people. Consequently, it became a symbol of opposition to the shah in 1970s, and was worn by women (educated, middle and upper class) who previously would have been unveiled.
After the 1979 Iranian Revolution and overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty, veiling again was encouraged, and in 1981 the covering of hair and wearing of loose-fitting clothing covering all but hands and face was made legally mandatory for women. [3] [4] Since the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, hijab has again become a political symbol, this time of opposition to the Islamic Republic, and defiance of the law by younger women has been observed "in towns and cities" and been called "too widespread to contain and too pervasive to reverse". [5] As of April 2023, however, the Islamic Republic has vowed to enforce the "divine decree" of the hijab. [6]
Leading up to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the wearing of hijab by educated middle-class women began to become a political symbol—an indication of opposition to the Pahlavi modernization policy and thus of Pahlavi rule. [7] Many middle-class working women starting to use it as such. [7]
Not only simple hijab but the traditional Shi'i chador became popular among the middle class opposition, as a symbol of revolutionary advocacy for the poor, as protest of the treatment of women as sex objects, to show solidarity with the conservative women who always wore them, and as a nationalist rejection of foreign influence.
Hijab was considered by conservative traditionalists as a sign of virtue, and thus unveiled women as the opposite. Rather than a sign of backwardness, unveiled women came to be seen as a symbol of Western cultural colonialism; Westoxication" (Gharbzadegi) or infatuation with western culture, education, art, consumer products etc., "a super-consumer" of products of Imperialism, a propagator of "corrupt Western culture", undermining the traditionalist conception of "morals of society", and as overly dressed up "bourgeois dolls", who had lost their honor. [8] : 144
Feminist hijab advocates pointed out that traditionally women not only wore hijab but did not mix with men, but in the anti-shah demonstrations thousands of veiled women participated in religious processions alongside men, which showed hijab empowered women protecting women from sexual harassment (because conservative men regarded them as more respectable) and enabling access to public spheres. [9]
After the Islamic Revolution and founding of the Islamic Republic, the Kashf-e hijab was reversed. Instead of prohibiting veils, the law now required them, [8] a process that worked in stages. [4] In spring of 1979 (shortly after the overthrow), leader of the revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini announced that women should observe Islamic dress code. [10] He was supported in his by the conservative/traditionalists fraction of the revolutionaries who were hostile to unveiled women, as expressed in two slogans used during this time: "Wear a veil, or we will punch your head" and "Death to the unveiled". [10]
Non-conservative/traditionalist women, who had worn the veil as a symbol of opposition during the revolution, had not expected veiling to become mandatory. Almost immediately after, starting from 8 March 1979 (International Women's Day), thousands of liberal and leftist women began protesting against mandatory Hijab. [8] [11] The protests lasted six days, until 14 March. The protests resulted in the (temporary) retraction of mandatory veiling, [8] and government assurances that Khomeini's statement was only a recommendation. [4] [12]
Khomeini, denied that any non-hijab wearing women were part of the revolution, telling Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci in February 1979:
"the women who contributed to the revolution were and are women who wear modest clothes. ... these coquettish women, who wear makeup and put their necks, hair and bodies on display in the streets, did not fight the Shah. They have done nothing righteous. They do not know how to be useful, neither to society, nor politically or vocationally. And the reason is because they distract and anger people by exposing themselves." [10]
As the consolidation of power by Khomeini and his core supporters continued, left and liberal organizations, parties, figures, were suppressed and eliminated, and mandatory veiling for all women returned. [8] This began with the 'Islamification of offices' in July 1980, when unveiled women were refused entry to government offices and public buildings, and banned from appearing unveiled at their work places under the risk of being fired. [13] On the streets, unveiled women were attacked by revolutionaries. [10]
In July 1981 an edict of mandatory veiling in public was introduced (including for non-Muslims and non-citizens), women and girls over 9 must cover their hair, and hide the shape of their bodies under long, loose robes; [5] this was followed in 1983 by an Islamic Punishment Law, introducing a punishment of 74 lashes on women who failed to cover their hair in public. [11] : 67 [4]
Since 1995, unveiled women can also be imprisoned for up to 60 days. [10] Under Book 5, article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, women in Iran who do not wear a hijab may be imprisoned from 10 days to two months, and/or required to pay fines from 50,000 up to 500,000 rials adjusted for inflation. [14] [15] The law was enforced by members of the Morality Police who patrolled the streets—first the Islamic Revolution Committees, later by Guidance Patrols.
More than one source has emphasized the importance to the Islamic Republic of enforcing hijab in Iran, calling it "tantamount" to the Islamic Republic's "raison d'etat", a core pillar of Iranian state ideology, [10] Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, after all, the role of women in society constitutes "a core pillar" of "state ideology". [10] "a symbol" of the "success" of the Islamic Republic. [5] However, how diligently the law is enforced has varied over the years, "depending on which political faction" holds power. [5]
There are several parts of the government that have the responsibility and eligibility to make laws and enforce them to people regarding the matter of compulsory hijab. First of all, the morality police or Gasht-e Ershad, which are units of the Iranian security forces that patrol the streets and public places to monitor the compliance of women with the hijab law. [16] [17] The judiciary, which is the branch of the government that prosecutes and punishes women who violate the hijab law, with penalties ranging from fines and lashes to imprisonment and Flagellation. [18] [16] The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is a paramilitary force that cooperates with the judiciary and the morality police to suppress women who protest against the hijab law. [18]
In 2023, the Minister of Islamic Culture and Guidance announced they have a new The Bureau of Chastity Living, it is to parallel work to country's public culture council. [19] [20]
Facial recognition cameras, a product of Bosch, were deployed for use. [21] [22] In the 2023 law business places that are reported to not force women hijab receive fine up to %10 percent annual gross profit. [23] A uniform was issued for waitresses in entire city of Mashhad. [24]
The fines are withdrawn from the person's bank account by the government. [25]
In a move interpreted as a declaration of war against the people the government made it so doctors can't visit unveiled females. [26]
Municipality in Tehran city in August 2023 hired 400 hijab guards (hijabban) they report and then make arrest. [27] In August 2023, law minor girls who don't wear hijab can't go to school, aren't allowed to be hired in the future, can't get a passport, can't have a mobile phone, can't have a bank account, or internet access. [28]
In August 2023, Iranian MPs have voted to review a controversial hijab law behind closed doors, potentially avoiding public debate. The proposed "Hijab and Chastity Bill" would impose stricter penalties on women not wearing headscarves, prompted by protests over the death of a woman in custody. The decision to use Article 85 of Iran's constitution allows for a three to five-year trial period, pending approval from the powerful Council of Guardians. [29]
Crime | Highest Charge/Punishment | Fine |
---|---|---|
Foreigner without hijab |
| Article 23 Islamic criminal code [31] |
Not wearing hijab out on the street / Removing own hijab in public (kashf hijab) | 1st time 6th degree maximum punishment, second time fifth degree misdemeanor |
|
public nudity (not wearing full hijab) or semi nude (improper clothes) |
|
|
Not wearing hijab in car and on motor bike | 500 thousand toman traffic fine, 3 to 6 month car confiscation after second notice |
|
Collaborating with enemy countries, media, foreign groups against hijab |
|
|
Insulting hijab online or in real life and or advertising not wearing hijab |
|
|
Working advertisings without/or against hijab wearing |
|
|
Anti hijab wearing advertising action by businesses, workplaces and or employee |
|
|
Celebrities without/ not wearing hijab |
|
|
Selling / imported forbidden dresses and clothes |
|
|
Production / distribution of banned dresses / clothes |
|
|
Designing of banned dresses / clothes |
|
|
Deleting/ hiding CCTV footage tape from FARAJA |
|
|
Government worker/employees not wearing properly hijab | Fired and barred for up to 6 month- 2 years from government services | |
Insulting / abusing hijabi wearing women |
| |
Insulting Muslims who attempted guide person to hijab | Sixth degree | 6-24 million toman |
Extra insulting Muslims who attempted to guide person to hijab | Fifth degree | 24-50 million toman |
"Hijab" can mean Islamic modest dress in general. It can also mean covering of the head. Common styles for women in Iran that follow the law covering the head, the hair, arms, legs and ankles and hide the body shapes are: [32]
In May 2017, My Stealthy Freedom, an Iranian online movement advocating for women's freedom of choice, created the White Wednesday movement, a campaign that invites men and women to wear white veils, scarves, or bracelets to show their opposition to the mandatory forced veiling code. [33] The campaign resulted in Iranian women posting pictures and videos of themselves wearing pieces of white clothing to social media. [33] Masih Alinejad, the Iranian-born journalist and activist based in the UK and the US, who started the protest in 2017, [34] described it in Facebook, "This campaign is addressed to women who willingly wear the veil, but who remain opposed to the idea of imposing it on others. Many veiled women in Iran also find the compulsory imposition of the veil to be an insult. By taking videos of themselves wearing white, these women can also show their disagreement with compulsion." [34] [35]
On 27 December 2017, a White Wednesday protester, 31-year-old Vida Movahed, also known as "The Girl of Enghelab Street" was arrested. A video of her silently waving her white hijab headscarf on a stick while unveiled for one hour on Enqelab Street in Tehran [36] [37] went viral on social media. [37] [38] [39] On social media, footage of her protest was shared along with the hashtag "#Where_Is_She?" On 28 January 2018, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh announced Movahed had been released, [40] [41] In the following weeks, multiple people re-enacted Movahed's public display of removing their hijabs and waving them in the air. [37]
On 1 February 2018, the Iranian police released a statement saying that they had arrested 29 people, mostly women, for removing their headscarves. [37] [42] One woman, Shima Babaei, was arrested after removing her headdress in front of a court.
On 23 February 2018, Iranian Police released an official statement saying that any women found protesting Iran's compulsory veiling code would be charged with "inciting corruption and prostitution," which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. [43] considerably harsher than regular sentences of two months imprisonment or up to 74 lashes; or a fine of five hundred to fifty thousand rials for being without hijab. [44]
Following the announcement, multiple women reported being physically abused by police following their arrests, [43] some sentenced to multiple years in prison. [45] In one video, an unveiled woman is tackled by a man in police uniform while standing atop a tall box, waving her white scarf at passers by. [46] On 8 March 2018, another video went viral, this one of three hijab-less Iranian women singing a feminist fight song in honor of International Women's Day and feminist issues in Tehran's subway . [47]
That same day, in response to the peaceful hijab protests, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, posted a series of tweets , [48] defending the Islamic state's dress code, praising Islam for keeping women "modest" and in their "defined roles" such as educators and mothers, and chastising Western immodesty. [49] "The features of today's Iranian woman include modesty, chastity, eminence, protecting herself from abuse by men." [50]
In 2021 a hard-line "Principalist", Ebrahim Raisi, was elected President of Iran, and enforcement of hijab regulations intensified. [51] September 2022, when new and more intense protests followed the killing of Mahsa Amini 22, while in the custody of the morality police after being arrested for "improper hijab".[ citation needed ]
As of April 2023, protests have fizzled out due to a violent crackdown, in the form of mass arrests and several executions, but obedience to mandatory hijab by younger women has also dropped markedly, despite harsh penalties. In the capital city of Tehran, it can still be observed in the Bazaar (home of tradition), but not "in places popular with younger women"—parks, cafes, restaurants and malls. [5]
Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times quotes a 23 year old a graduate student in Sanandaj, in western Iran, "I have not worn a scarf for months ... Whether the government likes to admit it or not, the era of the forced hijab is over." [5]
Even many religious women who wear a hijab by choice have joined the campaign to repeal the law. A petition with thousands of names and photographs of women is circulating on Instagram and Twitter with the message, “I wear the hijab, but I am against the compulsory hijab.” [5]
However, as of 1 April 2023, there has been "unyielding rhetoric" from the Iranian Interior Ministry and head of the judiciary, promising "no retreat or tolerance" on enforcement of mandatory hijab. [6] and two weeks prior Iranian authorities proposed new measures to enforce hijab, replacing Guidance Patrols with surveillance cameras. These
will be used to monitor public spaces for women not wearing the hijab, and offenders will be punished subsequently with measures that include cutting off their mobile phone and Internet connections. Police and judicial authorities will be tasked with collecting evidence and identifying violators. [52]
In modern usage, hijab generally refers to various head coverings conventionally worn by many Muslim women. It is similar to the tichel or snood worn by Orthodox Jewish women, certain headcoverings worn by some Christian women, such as the mantilla, apostolnik and wimple, and the dupatta worn by many Hindu and Sikh women. Whilst a hijab can come in many forms, it often specifically refers to a scarf wrapped around the head, covering the hair, neck and ears but leaving the face visible. The use of the hijab has been on the rise worldwide since the 1970s and is viewed by many Muslims as expressing modesty and faith; it has also been worn for purposes of adornment. There is a consensus among Islamic religious scholars that covering the head is either required or preferred, though some Muslim scholars and activists point out that it is not mandated.
Throughout history, women in Iran have played numerous roles, and contributed in many ways, to Iranian society. Historically, tradition maintained that women be confined to their homes to manage the household and raise children. During the Pahlavi era, there was a drastic social change towards women's desegregation such as ban of the veil, right to vote, right to education, equal salaries for men and women, and the right to hold public office. Women were active participants in the Islamic Revolution. Iran's constitution, adopted after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, proclaims equality for men and women under Article 20, while mandating legal code adhering to Sharia law. Article 21 of the constitution as well as a few parliament-passed laws give women rights such as being allowed to drive, hold public office, and attend university but not wearing a veil in public can be punished by law; and when in public, all hair and skin except the face and hands must be covered. However, this is often not enforced; notably in recent years, Iranian women have started a number of groups to rebel against the government's oppressive policies and reclaim their independence and rights.
During the late 20th and early 21st centuries in Iran, women's rights have been severely restricted, compared with those in most developed nations. The World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Iran 140, out of 144 countries, for gender parity. In 2017, in Iran, females comprised just 19% of the paid workforce, with seven percent growth since 1990. In 2017, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index ranked Iran in the bottom tercile of 153 countries. Compared to other South Asian regions, women in Iran have a better access to financial accounts, education, and cellphones. Iran was ranked 116, out of the 153 countries, in terms of legal discrimination against women.
Various styles of head coverings, most notably the khimar, hijab, chador, niqab, paranja, yashmak, tudong, shayla, safseri, carşaf, haik, dupatta, boshiya and burqa, are worn by Muslim women around the world, where the practice varies from mandatory to optional or restricted in different majority Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
Sex segregation in Iran encompasses practices derived from the conservative dogma of Shiite Islam currently taking place in Iran. Most areas of the country are segregated by sex, except universities. In many cities, there are women parks. Sex segregation prohibits males from viewing females, and age of consent laws do not exist, as all sexual activity outside marriage is illegal. UN experts have denounced Iran for enforcing gender apartheid.
On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah of Iran (Persia) issued a decree known as Kashf-e hijab banning all Islamic veils, an edict that was swiftly and forcefully implemented. The government also banned many types of male traditional clothing.
Sadaf Taherian is an Iranian model and former actress. She has had appearances in Iranian movies and television. After leaving the country, Taherian posted unveiled images of herself on Facebook and Instagram that were denounced by Iran's ministry of culture and Islamic guidance.
The Guidance Patrol or morality police is an Islamic religious police force and vice squad in the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Guidance Patrol enforce Sharia–Islamic law—per laws in Iran; this is most often the enforcement of Islamic dress code, such as ensuring women in the country wear hijabs. The Guidance Patrol was formed in 2005 as a successor organisation to the older Islamic Revolution Committees, and reports to the Supreme Leader.
The Girls of Enghelab protests are protests against the compulsory hijab in Iran, part of the wider Iranian Democracy Movement. The protests were inspired by Vida Movahed, an Iranian woman known as the Girl of Enghelab Street, who stood in the crowd on a utility box on Enghelab Street in Tehran on 27 December 2017 during the 2017–2018 Iranian protests who tied a white headscarf, to a stick, and waved it to the crowd as a flag. She was arrested on that day and was released temporary on bail a month later, on 28 January 2018. Some people interpreted Movahed's action as being based on Masih Alinejad's call for White Wednesdays, a protest movement that the presenter at VOA Persian Television started in early 2017. Other women later re-enacted her protest and posted photos of their actions on social media. These women are described as the "Girls of Enghelab Street" and the "Girls of Revolution Street" in English sources. Some of the protesters however claim that they were not following Masih Alinejad's call. The protests intensified in 2022 due to the death of Mahsa Amini.
Vida Movahed, more commonly known as Vida Movahed, is an Iranian human rights activist, protester, and women's rights activist who is considered the initiator of the Girls of Enghelab movement. On December 27, 2017, on the Enghelab Street in Tehran, she symbolically took her white headscarf off to protest against the mandatory hijab in Iran. Subsequently, her picture was published as "The Girl of Enghelab Street".
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On International Women's Day on March 8, 1979, a women's march took place in Tehran in Iran. The march was originally intended to celebrate the International Women's Day, but transformed into massive protests against the changes taking place in women's rights during the Iranian revolution, specifically the introduction of mandatory hijab (veiling), which had been announced the day before. The protests lasted for six days, from 8 March to 14 March 1979, with thousands of women participating. The protests were met with violence and intimidation by pro-Khomeini Islamist forces.
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