compulsory headscarf law

In Iran's presidential runoff election held on Saturday, Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist candidate and heart surgeon, emerged as the winner. His campaign promises included engaging with Western nations and easing the enforcement of Iran's mandatory headscarf law. These pledges resonated with voters following a challenging period marked by sanctions and protests that have put pressure on the Islamic Republic. Pezeshkian's rival, the hard-liner Saeed Jalili, was unsuccessful in his bid for the presidency.

In the wake of the deadly bombings in Sri Lanka, for which the Islamic State has claimed responsibility, the government has instituted a ban on face veils. Though the move has sparked public outrage, the government insists it will aid national security.

Woman Grandmaster and former world junior girls’ champion Soumya Swaminathan has pulled out of the Asian Team Chess Championship, to be held in Hamadan, Iran, from July 26 to August 4, calling the Islamic country’s “compulsory headscarf” rule violative of her personal rights.

Despite facing potential repercussions, Iranian women are increasingly defying mandatory hijab laws following Jina Mahsa Amini's death, challenging the state's authority. While some conservatives advocate for stricter enforcement, many women are publicly rejecting the dress code, supported by activists like Sedigheh Vasmaghi, who argue the Quran doesn't mandate it. Despite arrests and ongoing debates about stricter laws, a return to pre-protest norms seems unlikely.

Iran said Saturday it is reviewing a decades-old law that requires women to cover their heads, as it struggles to quell more than two months of protests linked to the dress code. "Both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue)" of whether the law needs any changes, Iran's attorney general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said.

An Iranian teenage girl injured weeks ago in a mysterious incident on Tehran's Metro while not wearing a headscarf has died, reports stated on Saturday. The death of Armita Geravand comes after her being in a coma for weeks in Tehran and after the one-year anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini which sparked nationwide protests at the time. What happened in the few seconds after Armita Geravand entered the train on October 1 remains in question.

The United States has criticized Iran's recent presidential election, describing it as "neither free nor fair" and asserting that electing Masoud Pezeshkian as President will not alter the "Islamic Republic's stance on human rights". Pezeshkian, a reformist candidate, won the runoff election with approximately 53.6% of the vote, defeating ultraconservative Saeed Jalili. A US spokesperson emphasized that despite the election results, the United States intends to continue diplomatic engagements with Tehran "when it advances American interests".

The UN decried Tuesday Mahsa Amini's death in custody after she was arrested by Iran's 'morality police' and the violent crackdown on protests over her death, demanding an independent investigation.

Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani, known for his liberal views, has, in a series of tweets, said that a woman’s chastity should not be questioned on the basis of the clothes she wears.

The Muslim side on Monday said the Supreme Court, not being sufficiently proficient in Arabic, is ill-equipped to interpret the Quran. It argued that instead of determining the essentiality of hijab to Islam by attempting to interpret the holy book, the court should view hijab as an individual woman’s right to choose a piece of cloth to protect her privacy, dignity and identity.

Iranian activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, imprisoned since December 2023, faces execution after the Supreme Court upheld her sentence for "armed rebellion." Her advocacy for workers' rights led to her arrest, with the government deeming her labor organisation committee an "opposition group." Lawyer Marzieh Mohebi highlights the vague laws used to suppress dissent.

A bold protest at Tehran’s Islamic Azad University has reignited the fight for personal freedoms and women’s rights in Iran, echoing the powerful defiance that followed Mahsa Amini’s death. This protest underscores the enduring resistance against state repression and strict dress code enforcement

The injury of a 16-year-old girl who boarded a Metro train in Iran without a headscarf has caused anger and speculation about the cause. Armita Geravand's friends claim she hit her head on the platform, but the surveillance footage from outside the train is blocked. Activists abroad suspect she may have been attacked for not wearing a hijab and demand an independent investigation.