She adjusts the edges of her scarf to sit better on her head, takes another look in the mirror and tries to get more volume from her hair outside of the scarf. She makes every effort to make the scarf look more like an accessory on her head rather than a covering. She steps out of the house and knows that the main struggle has just begun. The scarf keeps shifting on her head, her hair above her head getting more tangled with each shift and becoming more disheveled than before. She pulls the edges of the scarf off her shoulders and once again arranges it neatly on her head. As she enters the main street, she sees boys and men in short-sleeved shirts and light cotton pants walking back and forth in the shade of the sidewalk. Meanwhile, it’s time for her coat to start twisting around her body like a boa constrictor, with the front part forming a line around her waist. Anything she wears to go out, to any destination, takes up a

I’m sorry, I cannot translate the text as it is not provided. Please provide the Farsi text for translation.

In less than a hundred years, the people of Iran have been faced with two mandatory phenomena regarding the hijab. Although the history of criticism towards the hijab dates back to the reign of Naser al-Din Shah and the women’s movement during the Constitutional Revolution, Iranians were forced to abandon their hijab during the rule of Reza Shah and on January 17, 1935, according to a government decree. Less than 50 years after this law, history once again brought back the mandatory hijab for women, this time forcing them to wear it.

According to historical documents and articles written in newspapers in 1357, the first whispers of the necessity of Islamic covering for women in Iran were heard in the month of Esfand in 1357 – less than a month after the revolution.

This is in a situation where less than two years later, that is, from July 5, 1980, and before the widespread adoption of Islamic hijab, the entry of unveiled women into government offices was also prohibited, until the beginning of the 1990s when the preservation of Islamic hijab and dress became universally widespread in Iran.

The first expression of opinion about Islamic hijab and dress was heard in Esfand 1357 (February/March 1979). In issue 15 of the newspaper Ettela’at, a reflection of a speech by Ayatollah Khomeini, which was given at the Feyziyeh School in Qom regarding the boundaries of hijab, was published. This short report was titled “Women in Islam Have the Right to Divorce.” Ayatollah Khomeini said in this speech: “Islamic women must come out with hijab, not that they should belittle themselves. Working in offices is not prohibited, but women must have Islamic hijab.”

Ayatollah Khomeini also said in this speech: “I have been informed that there are naked women in government offices, and this is against the law.”

On the day after this date, which is 16 Esfand 1357, the newspaper Ettela’at published on its front page the headline: “Imam’s Opinion on Women’s Hijab”.

According to this news, Ayatollah Khomeini had said in another speech in the city of Qom: “Islamic women are not dolls and their work must be done with Islamic hijab.” The headline of Ettelaat newspaper on February 20, 1979, quoting Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani, was: “There is no compulsion in hijab.”

According to the newspaper Ettelaat, Mr. Taleghani said in an interview with Iranian radio and television: “Islamic hijab is a symbol of personality and dignity, and there is no compulsion involved. Undoubtedly, the opinion of the Imam is in the best interest of our women, sisters and daughters, and is in accordance with the principles of Islam… Hijab is not something that I or a jurist have created, it is a clear commandment in the Quran. The verse of hijab is for the purpose of giving women a sense of identity… Does this prevent them from having administrative jobs? No… The main issue is that there is no compulsion involved and the issue is not about the headscarf.”

On the other hand, according to the report of the newspaper Ettelaat, on this day, Mehdi Hadavi, the prosecutor general of the revolution, considered the harassment of unveiled women as anti-revolutionary in a statement and declared that such harassment is against the ideals of Imam Khomeini. Additionally, Ayatollah Rabani Shirazi emphasized in a message in Ettelaat that the emphasis on Islam [regarding hijab] is based on a value that has been established for women… Women are free to choose their type of hijab, and they should refrain from any form of violence against women.

On February 20, 1979, the newspaper Ettela’at published a statement from the Organization of Iranian People’s Fedayeen, quoting this political organization as saying that the anti-revolutionary behavior of the reactionary forces towards women is condemned.

Similarly, Ali Asghar Haj Seyyed Javadi, a writer, wrote in an article titled “Neither Stalin, nor Sultan Saeed bin Timur” in the newspaper Ettelaat: “This order that women must wear Islamic hijab [leads] to nothing but increased dissatisfaction and frustration from the revolution by the people, and increased conflict between the people and the committees’ officials.” According to him: “The idea that only clerics and religious scholars can understand and interpret the principles and foundations of Islam has no logical or rational basis, and its main purpose is nothing but the concentration of religious power in the hands of a specific group… If the intention of compulsory hijab is to wear a chador and use a headscarf, then it allows non-responsible individuals or those who now consider themselves responsible for maintaining order in Iranian cities to use this order as an excuse to commit violence against women.” (1)

However, the situation did not progress towards a good direction and the oppression of women gradually turned into a fundamental issue of the Islamic Republic.

Ayatollah Khomeini became involved in the issue of hijab in July 1979 with even more forceful words. He said, “Islam does not allow them to go naked and swim in these seas. It strips them of their skin! Women go naked there, and then women go naked in the cities! Like the things that were done during the time of the tyrant. If something like this happens, they will strip their skin. They are Muslims, they do not allow men and women to mix and fall into the sea and lose their lives together….Of course, the government, as the Minister of Interior said, said we stopped it. If they don’t stop, the people will stop them. Will they let the people of Mazandaran or Rasht, who live by the sea, be like that again?”

These threatening and violent words against women who did not observe the hijab increased in the streets.

In these circumstances, it was announced that girls are not allowed to go to school without hijab from the beginning of Mehr month 1358. One year later, on 8 Tir month 1359, Ayatollah Khomeini also demanded the purification of corrupt officials. As Jamaran website has also mentioned, Ayatollah Khamenei’s reference to unveiled women in offices was also present in the eyes of many.

Following these words, Hojat al-Islam Reishahri, the head of the Revolutionary Court, requested all military institutions to refrain from allowing unveiled women to enter their offices, through a notification.

Hassan Rouhani defines the story of forcing hijab in the armed forces in a video and says, “I gave an ultimatum that from tomorrow no one has the right to come without hijab and I also told the commanders not to let those without hijab pass.”

With the start of the war between Iraq and Iran, in the discourse of suppressing unveiled women, which had begun with the concepts of “monarchy” and “anti-revolution”, concepts such as “the sanctity of martyrs’ blood” became more prominent. After the month of Khordad 1360 (June 1981), the presence of unveiled women in society was met with both official and legal opposition, as well as the dominance of the government’s discourse, which led to the reaction of religious people.

Finally, in November 1362 (1983), according to Article 102 of the Penal Code, it was announced that women who appear in society without proper hijab will be punished with imprisonment for ten days to two months or 74 lashes.

Years later, in the month of Mordad 1397, the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly published a report titled “Factors Affecting the Implementation of Hijab Policies and Future Solutions”. According to this report, 35 to 45 percent of the society values hijab. The report compares various research studies and states that the value of hijab has had a declining trend in the public perception, with a decrease of almost 50 percent compared to 1365.

According to this report, 60 to 70 percent of women in society fall into the category of “conventional hijabis” (improperly veiled according to religious definition), and among them, 10 to 15 percent are “non-conventional hijabis”. The report states that nearly 70 percent of society does not adhere to either conventional or religious hijab, and adds: “There is a high likelihood of them shifting to other groups, especially the non-conventional spectrum.”

The Center for Parliamentary Research has stated that 30 to 40 percent of women in society are in the group of religiously veiled women. Among them, 13 percent adhere to their veil in a traditional manner. This phrase means that traditional culture leads them towards religious veiling, not necessarily religious beliefs. And if we subtract this 13 percent from the maximum 40 percent, only 27 percent of women observe religious veiling for religious reasons.

This report states that with an increase in education, the level of hijab among women decreases. Additionally, women who go to the cinema more often are less veiled. Age is also significantly related to immodesty; meaning that younger people are more immodest.

According to this report, two groups of people, namely “unemployed” and “students” are among the “vulnerable” groups; among the employed, employees of private companies, markets, workers, and media activists have the highest rate of lack of coverage.

This report adds that marital status has no significant impact on the changes in women’s clothing in society and the difference between single and married women’s immodesty is approximately 10%. Another influential variable is “consumption of specific media by people” (referring to watching satellite channels) in a way that with an increase in media consumption, the level of immodesty also increases.

The last influential factor in the decline of the value of hijab, according to this report, is “the high cost of Islamic clothing and the lack of necessary infrastructure for providing a beautiful and affordable dress code”, which in a way restores the status of hijab.

This report has concluded that: “Educated young individuals who are unemployed or employed in the private sector and usually watch special media such as satellite, have the most vulnerable situation in society.”

This report concludes by referring to several research reports that indicate that the majority of people in Iran are interested in women wearing hijab, but hijab is facing a crisis of beauty. Therefore, it suggests investing in the beauty industry to solve the issue of hijab and making hijab compliance a personal preference.

What has been severely neglected in this report is the lack of understanding over the past forty years that it is impossible to create an internal desire in people through force, and that the only result of this forced ascent of the discourse of hatred and resentment is tangible coercion. What is visible in this current cycle of control is a system that cannot fulfill its promises and is losing its grip on the control of women, who are the only symbol of the difference before and after the revolution.

Notes:

1. “Sadr, Benjamin, ‘Where Did the Whispers of Compulsory Hijab Begin?’, Radio Farda, 14 Esfand 1392.”

2. Shafiei, Mohammad Javad, “From the Compulsion of Hijab to the Girls of Enghelab Street”, EuroNews, 11 Bahman 1396.