Mandatory or Optional? Elections Widen the Rift Over the Hijab in Iran

As Iran braces itself for upcoming elections to the Parliament and Assembly of Experts, most analysts warn of a voter boycott and low electoral participation. This threat, in turn, has made the government encourage voters alienated by the regime to cast their votes and thereby increase regime legitimacy. This is particularly true of women, who largely do not approve of the hijab legislation and its enforcement, which led to the tragic killing of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police September 16, 2022 and provoked anti-hijab uprisings and broader anti-government unrest. Now, some regime officials from the Guardian Council, Iran’s candidate-vetting body, and the provincial level executive branch are encouraging women who are not wearing a hijab to vote.

The Iranian Parliament does not appear to be on the same page, having submitted the “On Chastity and Hijab” bill, which would impose draconian punishments against “those in violation of the hijab law” and businesses that provide services to them, to the Guardian Council for consideration. The Guardian Council has stalled the bill since September 2023, but sooner or later, it must assess its constitutionality. In the meantime, the regime must not only consider whether the hijab should be mandatory but must also assess whether Iranian women can be terrorized into submission or if such legislation could provoke a renewed round of anti-hijab protests.

• September 21, 2023: Center-right Fararu released the full text of the parliamentary bill “On Chastity and Hijab.” The Guardian Council, which is formally tasked with assessing the constitutionality of all legislation, has yet to provide an opinion on the bill.
• January 15: Reformist Shargh News, quoting a statement on the hijab and women’s voting rights by Hadi Tahan-Nazif, the Guardian Council’s spokesperson, wrote: “There is no law that deprives anyone of the right to vote.”
• January 15: In reaction to Tahan-Nazif’s comments, centrist Khabar Online interviewed experts on women’s issues and political participation in Iran:
  • Ali Mojtahedzadeh, a lawyer, accused the government of giving women who are not wearing a hijab the right to vote only because it would benefit from a high electoral participation rate: “The people cannot be deprived of their rights – and not just the right to vote.” The government “cannot shut down business, confiscate an automobile, prohibit the people from entering a bank or a public building” because they are not wearing a hijab. “If Tahan-Nazif agrees, the government cannot say, ‘Whenever it benefits the government, it is not a problem’” to not wear a hijab. “After all, here we are talking about the voters voting yes to the Islamic Republic.”
  • Nahid Khodakarami, a women’s rights activist, asked Tahan-Nazif: “My question to this gentleman is this: Can women without hijab also run for Parliament? The distinction between women with hijab and those without it is a calamity for society. Until recently, people could be discriminated against because of their sex, and now it is because of whether they wear a hijab or not. This is an insult to the people … In this country, there is a political current that, under the banner of hijab, is harassing the citizenry. When the Guardian Council spokesman declares that nobody can deprive women without hijab of their right to vote, I ask a different question: Can someone deprive citizens of their right to choose what they wear? Can the Guardian Council disqualify someone due to what it perceives as immodest dress? Can the Guardian Council disqualify any person without hijab who is qualified for a parliamentary seat when it comes to education, knowledge, and expertise needed for the development of this country? Yes, the Guardian Council can do so and has done so. Many a woman who wears the hijab but not the long black veil has been disqualified on those grounds.”
• February 13: According to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mouthpiece Tasnim News, in a press conference on the March 1 elections to Parliament and the Assembly of Experts, Lotfallah Shibani, the governor of Shiraz, said: “Nobody will prevent an Iranian citizen from voting, regardless of hijab. Executive, security, and other government elements are only authorized to give a verbal warning, but there is no obstacle to voting.”

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