Escalating Debate Over ‘Improper Hijab’ in the City of Qom

The deputy chief of law enforcement says “hijab and chastity” are not being observed in Qom, and Makarem Shirazi calls this situation a “great calamity.” With the onset of Ramadan, criticism from Qom’s religious figures regarding women’s and young people’s dress has intensified.

Naser Makarem Shirazi, one of the Shia sources of emulation, has warned that “the hijab issue today has transcended a purely religious matter and has become a political issue to counter the system’s principles”.

The Shafaqna news website reported on Monday morning, the sixth of Khordad (May 27), that this source of emulation, in one of his speeches on the occasion of Ramadan, complained that some people only talk about economic issues and said that cultural issues should not be ignored either. He added: “The issues of improper hijab and no hijab, especially in Qom, are a great calamity.”

Criticism of women’s and young people’s dress in the religious city of Qom has a long history. Mohammad Saeed Montazeralmahdi, the social deputy of law enforcement, had previously told the IRNA news agency that despite a forty-fold increase in guidance patrols, “hijab and chastity” are not being observed in Qom.

About ten days ago, Jafar Sobhani, another source of emulation for Shias, reproached officials for not paying attention to women’s dress and complained that “the state of hijab in Qom is not befitting this holy city”.

“Proxy Improper Hijab in Qom”

The disregard of Qom’s women and girls for government-approved dress, which Makarem Shirazi called “a great calamity” and a political measure, is possibly, in Sobhani’s view, a “proxy” measure carried out in exchange for payment.

According to the Jamaran news website, Jafar Sobhani said on the 26th of Ordibehesht: “Of course, some of these unveiling women have a proxy nature and they are hired so that by taking a sum of money they pollute the city’s space, otherwise women who are revolutionary and said ‘Labbaik’ behind the Imam are authentic.”

Reza Karmi Pour, the Friday prayer leader of Qom, on Sunday the fifth of Khordad, in an interview with IRNA news agency, called the “promotion of improper hijab” a conspiracy of enemies of the Islamic Republic, because in his view “they know that if the importance and sanctity of hijab fades in Qom, their way to promote unveiled dress in other cities of the country becomes very easy”.

Failure of “Powerful Approach”

Karmi Pour told IRNA: “In dealing with manifestations of improper hijab in Qom, in addition to reminders and commanding right and forbidding wrong, legal methods and powerful approaches should be used to prevent the promotion of this abnormal phenomenon.”

Morteza Haidari, the governor of Qom, admitted a few days ago that the increase in cases of “improper hijab” and eating during Ramadan “has caused resentment among people and sources of emulation,” but clarified that the situation in Qom from this perspective is not “critical”.

Haidari told ISNA news agency: “In Qom, the situation of eating during fasting and lack of hijab and chastity is not critical, but the existence of even small cases causes people’s distress and proper planning should be done in this regard.”

The governor of Qom emphasized that by mobilizing cultural resources and utilizing people’s capacities, the spread of “some improper hijab” in this city should be prevented.

The “Qom Fori” news website, last Monday, quoted Musa Hosseini Kashani, the director general of the Culture and Islamic Guidance Organization in Qom, as saying that according to the law, 25 different organizations have legal duties and responsibilities regarding “hijab and chastity,” and all departments and institutions should fulfill their duties to “improve the state of hijab”.

Regarding the reason for the failure of these agencies, he said: “Parallel work, non-implementation of the share of different agencies, and also the lack of proportion between resources and legal duties are among the challenges ahead in the field of cultural building regarding hijab.”

A Clear Majority of “Improper Hijab Wearers”

Many studies and surveys, including those conducted in official and governmental institutions, show that people’s willingness to use government-approved dress has sharply declined over the past four decades.

The Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, in a report published in Mordad of 1397, states that the results of investigations show that 60 to 70 percent of Iranian women fall into the “conventionally veiled” or “improperly veiled by religious definition” category, and 30 to 40 percent of them fall into the “properly veiled” category. The report adds that of this “properly veiled” minority, only 13 percent of women observe traditional hijab. Thus, a clear majority of Iranian women are trying to comply with the minimum level of “mandatory hijab”.

Source: DW