The ‘Hijab, No-Hijab’ Campaign Went Viral on Government ‘Hijab and Chastity’ Day

Coinciding with Iran’s government-designated ‘Chastity and Hijab’ day, the hashtag ‘Hijab, No-Hijab’ went viral on Persian-language social networks, and a field campaign by the same name was launched in several public places across the country.

July 12th on the Islamic Republic’s calendar is designated as ‘Hijab and Chastity Day,’ and government institutions and bodies are supposed to promote this subject for one week.

On this occasion, a video of a ceremony on this topic was broadcast by Iranian state television, which became subject to ridicule on social networks and faced mockery from users.

Several women’s rights activists and civil and human rights activists had called on Iranian male and female citizens to demonstrate their opposition to mandatory hijab in the country on this day.

Following this call, many videos and images were shared on social networks starting Tuesday morning, July 12th, showing some women and girls appearing without hijab on streets, in public transportation, and in shops.

In some videos, men also stood alongside their female family members in opposition to mandatory hijab, even leaving scarves and shawls on the street and throwing them away.

Many female users also shared their personal experiences on social networks or shared their observations of this field campaign with others.

This campaign was launched after Ali Khamenei said on July 7th in a meeting with the head and staff of the Judiciary: “God in 2022 is the same God in 1981, and we must strive to embody divine traditions so that the result is progress and victory.”

His remarks were accompanied by various speculations, one of which was that the authorities had decided to increase pressure on citizens, particularly women, in the manner of the 1980s, based on violent treatment of dress codes different from those deemed appropriate by the Islamic Republic.

Following these remarks, not only did crackdowns and arrests increase in Iran, but coinciding with the arrival of the summer season and the desire of many women to wear clothes appropriate for the season, the number of morality police patrols on streets increased.

While numerous reports on social networks indicate that detained women were beaten by morality police officers on streets or in detention centers, official Islamic Republic authorities are trying in their statements to emphasize the necessity of law enforcement by officers and commanders.

For instance, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, said on the morning of Tuesday, July 12th, in an open session of parliament: “Regarding hijab, the decisive word for all implementers and officers must be adherence to law and provision of people’s fundamental rights according to the constitution. Any action contrary to the provisions specified in the law, in any form, will be against the very purpose of promoting hijab and chastity.”

His remarks came at a time when other official figures had previously spoken about the necessity of taking positive rather than negative steps regarding what is called ‘improper hijab,’ remarks that in practice are disregarded by morality police in their dealings with people.

Meanwhile, Hossein Jalali, representative of Rafsanjan in parliament, denied any ‘harsh’ treatment by morality police toward women and said: “In the past ten years, which morality police are you talking about? Can you show me a place in the world freer and more naked than Iran? Where is the morality police?”

While reports from social media users indicate the presence of large numbers of morality police officers on streets in various Iranian cities, this representative added: “Perhaps one-thousandth of encounters occur. You’re behind the mountain of Qaf; in a country of 80 million people, one person reminded another person, you come and ignore 99.9 percent, and cling to one-thousandth of the problem?”

Mr. Jalali also claimed: “Westerners come here and say we think we’re walking in Europe. Nudity has seized society.”

His admission of the futility of coercive policies against women’s dress codes comes as the Islamic Republic has spent enormous costs on this issue for years and has tried to severely increase the cost of disregard for hijab for citizens.

For instance, Iranian courts have sentenced women, referred to as ‘Girls of Revolution Street’ who publicly opposed mandatory hijab, to lengthy prison sentences.

Source: Radio Farda