Comments made by Shahram Dabiri, Deputy for Parliamentary Affairs to Massoud Pezeshkian, regarding the suspension of the mandatory hijab law, made headlines again. Meanwhile, the regime’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, addressed a group of women, avoiding any direct mention of the controversial law, and instead reiterated that a woman’s primary role is to “increase childbirth.”
Iranian Official Confirms Suspension of Mandatory Hijab Law Amid Controversy
On Wednesday morning, December 18, 2024, Dabiri told reporters: “We’ve requested that the Chastity and Hijab Law not be implemented and that a revised version be submitted to Parliament as a new proposal. This was also the Speaker’s request.” He added, “Our current request is for the National Security Council to intervene and halt the implementation of this law.” (ISNA, December 18, 2024)
This announcement followed weeks of heated discussions. Earlier, on November 27, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had stated in a press briefing that this law, which the Guardian Council ratified on September 21, would be formally enacted on December 13. Following public uproar and the strong backlash after the Guardian Council’s text was released, some members of parliament indicated that if Pezeshkian did not sign the law, Qalibaf would act himself.
As late as December 12, MP Haj Diligani told reporters that the law would be sent to the President the next day, giving him two weeks to implement it. Amir Hossein Bankipour, one of the law’s proponents, also said that the government should have raised any objections before the Guardian Council approved it. “Now that the law has passed, it must be enforced, and any attempt to circumvent it will have serious consequences.”
However, on the evening of December 14, it was announced that the law would not be enacted due to the Pezeshkian administration’s request and the intervention of the National Security Council.
This retreat marks a significant concession by the regime, underscoring fears of renewed social unrest. The mandatory hijab law has proven to be a double-edged sword: its implementation risks sparking nationwide protests. At the same time, its suspension reflects a regime in crisis, particularly following its weakened geopolitical position in Syria.
Repercussions of the mandatory Hijab Law: Harsh Penalties and Execution Threats
On September 13, 2022, Jina Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, fell into a coma after being severely beaten by the Guidance Patrol. Her death on September 16, 2022, triggered a six-month uprising that swept across Iran, claiming the lives of over 750 protesters, and leading to the detention of 30,000 people. Since then, many Iranian women have defiantly rejected the mandatory hijab, describing it as “stained with blood.”
In an attempt to reassert control, the regime drafted a new hijab enforcement law, finally approved in September 2024 after two years of back and forth. The lengthy process of approving the law itself reflects the regime’s fear of enforcing it.
This 74-article legislation includes draconian penalties: violators face fines ranging from 5 million to 330 million tomans (approximately $65 to $4,285), imprisonment of up to 15 years, and even capital punishment in cases deemed “corruption on earth.” These penalties apply even to girls as young as nine.
The law also encourages foreign nationals, including Afghan refugees, to report unveiled women. Business owners and taxi drivers who fail to enforce mandatory hijab rules among their patrons are subject to heavy fines.
Khamenei: A Woman’s Primary Duty Is Childbearing
On December 17, 2024, Ali Khamenei, the mullahs’ supreme leader, delivered a televised speech to a group of women, declaring that the most important role of a woman within the family is “childbearing” and “motherhood.”
Without addressing the criminal, inhumane, and anti-Islamic mandatory hijab law or its suspension, he emphasized the security implications of the issue for the clerical regime, stating, “The enemy is not idle… In the name of defending women, in the name of defending a group of women, or defending one woman, they foment unrest in a country… The soft war and deceptive methods used to divert people from values, especially regarding women, must be understood.”
Iranian Women’s Response to Khamenei
Khamenei’s remarks, portraying advocacy for women’s rights as a threat, underscore the regime’s fear of Iranian women’s resistance. Women have been at the forefront of protests, courageously confronting the regime’s oppression.
Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, responded to Khamenei’s comments with a powerful statement:
“The answer of Iran’s free women to Khamenei’s drivel is the same slogan they chanted during the 2022 uprising: ‘Khamenei, you tyrant, we’ll bury you underground.’”
Rajavi condemned the regime’s misogyny, noting that it has set global records for the imprisonment, torture, and execution of women over the past 45 years. She declared:
“Women are the driving force of change in Iran. From the streets to the prisons to the Resistance Units, they lead the fight for freedom and equality. They will not rest until this sacred goal is achieved.”
