Comments by Shahram Dabiri, Massoud Pezechkian’s deputy for parliamentary affairs, regarding the suspension of the compulsory hijab law have once again made headlines. 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 main role is to “foster childbirth “.
Iranian official confirms suspension of compulsory hijab law amid controversy
On Wednesday, December 18, 2024 in the morning, Minister Dabiri declared to the press: “We asked the President of the Republic to suspend the law on the hijab: “We asked that the law on chastity and the hijab not be applied and a revised version submitted to Parliament as a new proposal. This is also what the President of Parliament requested.” He added: “Our current demand is that the National Security Council intervene and stop the implementation of this law.” (ISNA, December 18, 2024)
This announcement follows weeks of heated discussions. Earlier, on November 27, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf declared at a press conference that this law, ratified by the Guardian Council on September 21, would be officially promulgated on December 13. Following the public outcry and strong reaction after the publication of the Guardian Council’s text, some members of Parliament indicated that if Pezechkian did not sign the law, Qalibaf would act himself.
On 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 supporters of the law, also said the government should have raised objections before the Guardian Council approved it. “Now that the law has been 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 request of the Pezechkian administration and the intervention of the National Security Council.
This decline constitutes an important concession on the part of the regime, which raises fears of a resurgence of social unrest. The compulsory hijab law has proven to be a double-edged sword: its implementation risks sparking protests across the country. At the same time, its suspension reflects a regime in crisis, particularly due to the weakening of its geopolitical position in Syria.
Repercussions of the compulsory hijab law: Severe sanctions and threats of execution
On September 13, 2022, Jina Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, fell into a coma after being severely beaten by the orientation patrol. His death on September 16, 2022, sparked a six-month uprising that swept Iran, causing the deaths of more than 750 protesters and leading to the detention of 30,000 people. Since then, many Iranian women have defiantly rejected the obligatory hijab, describing it as “bloodstained.”
In an attempt to reassert its control, the regime drafted a new law on hijab enforcement, which was finally approved in September 2024 after two years of back and forth. The length of the law’s approval process reflects the regime’s fear of enforcing it.
This law of 74 articles provides for draconian sanctions: offenders are exposed to fines ranging from 5 to 330 million tomans (approximately 65 to 4,285 dollars), to a prison sentence of up to 15 years, or even capital punishment in cases considered “corruption on earth”. These penalties even apply to 9-year-old girls.
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 for their customers face hefty fines.
Khamenei: A woman’s first duty is to procreate
On December 17, 2024, Ali Khamenei, the mullahs’ Supreme Leader, gave a televised speech to a group of women, declaring that a woman’s most important role in the family was “procreation” and “motherhood.” “.
Without addressing the issue of the criminal, inhumane and anti-Islamic law on compulsory hijab or its suspension, he highlighted the security implications of the issue for the clerical regime, declaring: “The enemy is not inactive… At in the name of defending women, in the name of defending a group of women or a woman, he foments unrest in a country… The soft war and deceptive methods used to distract people from values, particularly in what concerns the women, must be understood. »
Iranian women’s response to Khamenei
Khamenei’s remarks, which paint the defense of women’s rights as a threat, underscore the regime’s fear of resistance from Iranian women. Women have been at the forefront of the protests, courageously confronting the regime’s oppression.
Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, responded to Mr. Khamenei’s comments with a powerful statement:
The response of the free women of Iran to Khamenei’s nonsense is the same slogan they chanted during the 2022 uprising: “Khamenei, you tyrant: Khamenei, tyrant, we will bury you underground.”
Ms. Rajavi condemned the regime’s misogyny, noting that it has set world records for the imprisonment, torture and execution of women over the past 45 years. She said:
“Women are the driving force of change in Iran. From the streets to prisons via resistance units, they lead the fight for freedom and equality. They will not rest until this sacred goal is achieved.”
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