Iranian authorities are closely watching women to ensure they wear the obligatory headscarf, even inside cars, and are imposing punishments, including confiscating vehicles, according to a report by Amnesty International on Wednesday.
In 2022, there were mass protests in Iran where women expressed their opposition to the dress code. However, the country’s leadership, despite the protests, has no plans to abandon the mandatory hijab rule established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Amnesty’s report, based on the accounts of over 40 women in Iran and published ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, reveals that women are facing extensive surveillance in public spaces and mass police checks, especially when driving.
Surveillance cameras or plainclothes agents using the police app Nazer capture images identifying license plates of vehicles with female drivers or passengers who are deemed to have violated the hijab rule. The women then receive text messages instructing them to report to the police and surrender their vehicles as a punishment. Hundreds of thousands of such orders to impound vehicles have been issued.
In some cases, impounded cars can be released after 15-30 days upon payment of “arbitrary” fees and obtaining written pledges to adhere to compulsory veiling.
Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy, describes Iran’s actions as a “sinister attempt to wear down resistance to compulsory veiling,” denouncing the “draconian tactics.”
The report also highlights mass random checks by authorities, where police stop women drivers to inspect if their cars are subject to confiscation. Access to transportation, airports, and banking services is often denied unless women comply with the headscarf rule, Amnesty states.
Defying the hijab rule can lead to prosecution, as evidenced by the January 2024 implementation of a flogging sentence of 74 lashes against a young woman, Roya Heshmati, for appearing unveiled in public.
Protests erupted in September 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, who was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab rule. Despite the crackdown that followed, with hundreds killed and thousands arrested, the demonstrations subsided.
In September 2023, Iran’s parliament passed the “Bill to Support the Culture of Chastity and Hijab,” increasing punishments for those deemed to have violated the rule. The bill is currently awaiting approval from the Guardians Council supervision body.