Iran’s quiet reactivation of compulsory hijab mechanisms—morality police, service denial, and informal bill enforcement—deepens state control over women, violates core human rihts rights, and risks renewing cycles of structural violence and discrimination.
Reports of the reactivation of morality police, restrictions on access to public services, and the quiet implementation of the “Hijab” bill have sparked serious concern about violations of women’s fundamental rights. These developments increase the risk of reproducing a cycle of violence, discrimination, and broader infringements on individual freedoms in Iran.
In the early days of Azar 1404 (late November 2025), new moves at the level of the government and security institutions of the Islamic Republic indicate a serious rise in pressure on women and a tightening of individual freedoms in matters of dress. These moves have triggered widespread concern about violations of women’s basic rights, the intensification of structural violence, and a return to repressive policies from earlier periods.
Signals of an intensified state policy on hijab
Elias Hazrati, head of the government’s Information Council, without giving details, has confirmed that the Supreme Leader has issued an order to the government “on cultural and social matters”. At the same time, an audio file released by the head of the “Jihad of Clarification Headquarters” claims that the Ministry of Intelligence has submitted a report on the “state of hijab” to the Supreme Leader, who allegedly described it as “shocking”. According to statements from various officials, this order includes:
- Increasing the role of security agencies in confronting so-called “bad hijab”;
- Identifying and dealing harshly with those described as “project-makers” or “field operatives”;
- Implementing the so-called “Hijab Bill” informally and “quietly”;
- Restricting access to state services, sending threatening text messages, and gradually tightening control over citizens in 11 provinces.
Taken together, these signals point to the de facto return of morality patrol policies and a growing intrusion of police and security forces into women’s everyday lives.
On-the-ground signs of a return to past patterns of repression
In recent weeks, morality patrol vans and the “moral security” police have once again been seen in different parts of Tehran and several other major cities. The “Modesty and Hijab Situation Room” in Tehran has become active, and according to the secretary of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Headquarters, more than 80,000 organised personnel are prepared to implement the new plan. At the same time, restrictions on the provision of public services to women deemed to lack “proper dress” have begun, and there is a growing number of reported cases of warnings, limited arrests, and vehicle seizures.
Human rights concerns
The new forced-hijab policies raise several key concerns under international human-rights standards and binding instruments:
- Violation of fundamental freedoms
State interference in people’s choice of dress clearly violates Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party. Security pressure to impose a single dress code infringes freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression. - Intensification of structural violence and the risk of a renewed cycle of repression
Experience from previous years in Iran shows that policing women’s dress often involves violence, humiliation, arbitrary arrest and serious psychological harm. Numerous reports indicate that the revival of these policies increases the likelihood that the same patterns will recur. - Negative impacts on women’s economic and social rights
Restricting banking, administrative and educational services for women labelled as lacking “proper dress” effectively deprives them of social, civil and economic rights, and amounts to overt discrimination.
Conclusion
The current signs of a return to harsh forced-hijab policies show that the Iranian government is intensifying its intervention in citizens’ private lives and narrowing individual freedoms and women’s rights. This trajectory, in clear contradiction with Iran’s international obligations and basic human-rights principles, significantly heightens the risk of increased violence, discrimination, and broader violations of citizens’ rights.
