An increasing number of women living in Iran are flouting hijab laws.
Since last December, people in the Middle Eastern country have been taking to the streets to push back against its authoritarian leaders. Though a severe economic crisis was the impetus for these protests, Iranians are now also calling for a broader overhaul of the controlling regime that currently runs the Asian nation.
In January, a violent crackdown in response to the uprisings led to the deaths of thousands – as far as external news organizations could ascertain, anyway, through the communication blackouts imposed by the government.
Indeed, “many people were killed just so that girls could have the kind of freedom they want in the country,” Baran, a 17-year-old student who declined to say her last name, told CBC News. And as time has gone on, women have been increasingly taking those freedoms back for themselves – through ongoing protest, and through defiance of imposed modesty.
“Our main objective is not limited to what we would like to wear,” Baran continued. “Our main goal is for the country’s economic situation to improve.”
Laws around hijab-wearing have existed in Iran since 1979. And there have been protests for years around such government impositions upon women throughout – perhaps most notably, the demonstrations that took place following the death of Mahsa Amini, who lost her life while in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
But the most recent hijab mandate, handed down in 2024, significantly heightened penalties for defying orders to wear hijabs – now, those who defy the edict could incur hefty fines, or even be sentenced to long-term prison sentences.
CBC News – which was given permission to report from within the country by the government itself – reported a social duality on the ground at present, in which women can be seen driving scooters, heads uncovered, in one neighborhood, as pro-government demonstrations are held in the next neighborhood over, where women in attendance are fully covered. Bombings by the U.S. and Israel throughout this year are said to have made the situation more strained.
Mahyar Yeganeh, a 16-year-old student who lost several classmates in previous protests, added that even with a ceasefire in place for the time being, there is still the government itself to live under. She told reporters that those outside of Iran should know that “if we wear colourful clothes, if we laugh, it is not a sign that we are happy and have no problem with anything,” she said. “It’s just simply that we are learning to survive these difficult conditions.”
She points to “the courage of Iranian women, still confronting a dictatorial government by any means” as inspiration that she taps into as she goes about her days – without a head covering. “I think that if I am going to live the final seconds of my life, I want to live it the way I want.”
