The first rumors about the new law began to spread when Reza Shah was influenced by the democratic reforms in Afghanistan and Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya of Afghanistan came to Iran in 1929. The Queen of Afghanistan was unveiled and caused controversy among Iranian clerics. They asked Reza Shah to force the Queen of Afghanistan to wear a veil in Iran, but Reza Shah, who was fond of this type of clothing, refused. At the same time, rumors began to spread about the approval of a law banning the veil. Reza Shah, after his only trip abroad to Turkey on 2 June 1934, was influenced by the authoritarian actions of Ataturk. During this period, there were also rumors about the ban on veiling in girls’ schools, but no law was passed in this regard.

It has been nearly two years that this issue has been occupying my mind, especially since I went to Turkey and saw their women throwing off their headscarves and working alongside men to help their country progress. I have come to despise the chador and chaghchour, as they are enemies of progress and development. Just like a poisonous snake, we must handle it with caution and get rid of it. These were the words of Reza Shah in a speech to one of his ministers. A few days later, on January 7th, 1936, the queen and her daughters appeared in public for the first time without their head coverings, and Reza Shah officially announced the ban on women’s veiling in a speech. This ban transformed the image of Iranian women and many of them were forced to abandon their veils, while others who were interested in being unveiled could now enter society without societal pressure. However, one of the darkest consequences of this ban was the increase

The discovery of the veil has claimed to solve the problem of women’s sedentary lifestyle, and we also look at this issue from the same perspective. Our specific question about the goal of unveiling arises. The goal of unveiling is addressed in Reza Shah’s speech on January 17, 1314 at the celebration of the graduation of girls from the Preliminary School, titled: “…because of being excluded from society, they were unable to showcase their talents and abilities, but I must say that they were also unable to fulfill their rights towards their country and beloved homeland… We should not ignore the fact that half of the population of our country was not counted, meaning half of the active forces of the nation were unemployed. Statistics about women were never taken into account, as if they were another group and not part of the population of Iran. It is very regrettable that only one possible case was considered in the statistics of women, and that was when the economic situation was tight and they were

The only and only testimony to the active presence of women in society is after the industrialization of countries. The need for women’s workforce in industrial societies has pulled them out of their homes and by granting them financial independence, has made them powerful. None of the human civilizations, even non-industrial democracies like ancient Greece or England between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, benefited from the presence of women.

Reza Shah saw the goal of unveiling as the entry of women into society and their addition to the workforce, but according to the writer’s belief, unveiling was not able to achieve such a transformation. Many supporters of unveiling considered the limited role of women in traditional society to be due to religion and saw unveiling as a means to cure this pain. Regardless of whether religion or unveiling is the cause of women’s exclusion from society, the reality is that, according to historical evidence, the active participation of women in society is only possible after countries become industrialized. The need for women in industrial societies to be pulled out of their homes and given financial independence makes them powerful. This is true for all human societies, even non-industrial democracies such as ancient Greece or England.

Between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, women were not allowed to be present. Essentially, active participation in society was more dependent on power and financial independence, and the non-industrial society was mainly made up of men due to the specific limitations of this society. This was despite the fact that Iranian society in 1314 did not have the characteristics of an industrial society. In 1334, 20 years after the unveiling of the veil, women only had access to 9% of occupations. This figure was probably much lower in 1314. On the other hand, while Reza Shah’s efforts to improve the situation of women were unsuccessful, the Islamic Republic’s goal was to keep women behind. The accumulation of demands for equality, the modernization of the Pahlavi regime, the formation of a wealthy middle class, the role of the media, and the high number of educated women have all contributed to the continuous suppression of demands for equality and the society’s understanding of gender equality.