This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
An order by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to enforce the country’s hijab and chastity law has resulted in a new list of restrictions on how women can dress.
The IRIB news agency, which is affiliated with Iranian state television, quoted Mohammad Saleh Hashemi Golpayegani as saying at the National Conference of Hijab and Chastity on August 14 that under the new order, “violators” will be fined, while female government employees will be fired if their social media profile pictures do not conform to Islamic laws.
Golpayegani is the secretary of Iran’s “Headquarters for Enjoining Right and Forbidding Evil,” which is responsible for determining and enforcing behavioral models in society.
Based on the new Hijab and Chastity law, women who publish their pictures without a hijab on the Internet will be deprived of some social rights for six months to one year.
The news comes amid recent reports that authorities in Iran are increasingly cracking down on women deemed to be in violation of wearing the hijab, which is mandatory in public in Iran.
In recent weeks, women judged not to be in compliance have been barred from entering government offices, banks, or riding on public transportation.
The notorious Guidance Patrols, or morality police, have become increasingly active and violent. Videos have emerged on social media appearing to show officers detaining women, forcing them into vans, and whisking them away.
The hijab — the head covering worn by Muslim women — became compulsory in public for Iranian women and girls over nine years of age after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Many Iranian women have flouted the rule over the years and pushed the boundaries of what officials say is acceptable clothing.
