Iran's Khamenei stands by mandatory hijab as women increasingly defy dress code

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reiterated his firm support for the mandatory hijab as political debate intensifies over the country’s dress code and the growing number of women openly defying it.

Khamenei’s comments came during a meeting with a group of women, amid mounting criticism from ultraconservatives who accuse state institutions of failing to enforce the long-standing rules.

“In the Islamic republic, it has been shown that a Muslim woman, wearing the hijab and respecting the Islamic dress, can progress more than others in all areas and play an active role both in society and in her home,” he said, adding, “With this vision, established in the Islamic Republic after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, our women and girls have progressed in many areas.”

The intervention followed a sharp rebuke in parliament, where more than half of lawmakers argued that the judiciary has not been sufficiently strict in upholding the compulsory headscarf law.

The debate grew more heated last week when Khamenei’s own office came under attack from hardliners after its newspaper published a photograph of an Iranian woman killed in the June war with Israel. The woman was seen without a hijab and was reportedly wearing a baseball cap with her hair visible.

It has been a legal requirement to have a veil mandatorily since the 1979 Islamic revolution, which had replaced the Western-backed monarchy with a theocratic state.

However, there have been several instances in recent years where women have pushed back against these rules. This has intensified especially after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022, while she was in custody for allegedly breaching the dress code.

Amini's death did not only come as a huge shock but also instigated nationwide protests that took place for months following her death. Hundreds died during these demonstrations. Authorities have dismissed the unrest as foreign driven “riots”.

Meanwhile, AFP has reported that efforts to strengthen penalties have stalled. A parliamentary bill passed in 2023 aimed at imposing harsher punishments on women deemed improperly dressed was never approved by the government.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July 2024, has repeatedly stated that women should not be compelled to wear the hijab. In January, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the proposed legislation was set aside because it “could have had serious social consequences.”