When did Iran make hijab compulsory?
On 7 March 1979, less than a month after the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini decreed that women in government workplaces had to wear hijab. Mass women's protests in Tehran on 8 March 1979 — International Women's Day — temporarily forced a retreat. By July 1980 hijab was mandatory in all public offices, and on 26 July 1983 the new Islamic Penal Code (Article 102, later Article 638) criminalised any woman appearing in public "without proper hijab".
What does the current law say?
Article 638 of Iran's Islamic Penal Code prescribes imprisonment of 10 days to 2 months or a fine for women appearing in public "without a hijab that is in accordance with sharia". In practice enforcement also draws on Article 639 (corrupting public morals), business-licensing regulations, and traffic codes used to impound cars whose female occupants are unveiled.
What is the 2023 Chastity & Hijab Bill?
Approved by the Guardian Council in late 2024 and enacted in December 2024, the Chastity & Hijab Bill escalates penalties for "improper hijab" to:
- Fines up to 360 million tomans (~US$8,500), more than 25 times the median monthly wage.
- Prison terms of up to 10 years for repeat offenders or those who "promote nudity" online.
- Confiscation of vehicles and mobile phones.
- Travel bans, dismissal from public employment, and forfeiture of inheritance.
- Liability for businesses that serve unveiled customers (sealed shops, withdrawn licences).
UN human-rights experts called it "gender apartheid" and warned that it amounted to a "crime against humanity of persecution".
The 2024 Noor Plan
On 13 April 2024, even before the bill's formal enactment, FARAJA launched the Noor ("Light") Plan — a nationwide street and surveillance campaign. CCTV with facial-recognition software is used to issue automatic violation notices to women whose number plates link them to unveiled appearances. See Morality Police.
Who is resisting?
Civil disobedience is widespread. Women appear unveiled in cafés, on the metro, at universities, and at concerts. Named cases include Roya Heshmati (74 lashes, January 2024), Sepideh Rashno (forced TV "confession", 2022), Mahsa Amini (killed in custody, September 2022), Armita Geravand (killed by hijab enforcers, October 2023), and the activists of the White Wednesdays and My Stealthy Freedom movements founded by Masih Alinejad.