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 September 2024 but suspended by the Supreme National Security Council in December 2024 before it took effect, 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- Liability for businesses that serve unveiled customers (sealed shops, withdrawn licences).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 (died after a reported assault by hijab enforcers, October 2023), and the activists of the White Wednesdays and My Stealthy Freedom movements founded by Masih Alinejad.
Key facts at a glance
- Compulsory since: 1979 for state employees; codified for all women in public by parliament in 1983.
- Governing article: Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code — 10 days to two months’ imprisonment or a fine for appearing without “religious hijab”.
- Applies to: every woman over the age of nine in public, including foreign visitors and non-Muslims.
- Enforcement body: the Guidance Patrol and, since April 2024, the camera-based Noor Plan.
- Pending legislation: the Hijab and Chastity Bill, passed by parliament in September 2023, suspended rather than withdrawn since December 2024.
- Status on the street: mass non-compliance in large cities since 2022; enforcement has shifted from arrest to fines, surveillance and exclusion from services.
How compulsory hijab became law
The order arrived before the law did. On 7 March 1979, less than a month after the revolution, Khomeini said that women in government offices should appear covered. Six days of protest followed in Tehran, and the order was temporarily softened. It returned in stages: as a condition of employment, then as a rule for entering ministries and universities, then in 1983 as a criminal offence carrying up to 74 lashes. The current text, Article 638, dates from the 1996 revision of the penal code.
| Date | Measure | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 7 March 1979 | Khomeini’s address on dress in government offices | Six days of mass women’s protest in Tehran; order presented as advisory |
| July 1980 | Administrative order on government premises | Uncovered women barred from ministries and public offices; dismissals begin |
| 1983 | Parliamentary legislation | Compulsory hijab in all public places; punishment of up to 74 lashes |
| 1996 | Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code | 10 days to two months’ imprisonment or a fine; the operative provision today |
| 2005–2006 | Creation of the Guidance Patrol | Dedicated street enforcement with vans and detention centres |
| September 2023 | Hijab and Chastity Bill passed by parliament | Escalating fines, up to 10 years for “organised” defiance, duties on businesses |
| 13 April 2024 | Noor Plan launched | Camera identification, SMS warnings, car impoundment, business closures |
| December 2024 | Bill suspended by the Supreme National Security Council | Not repealed; can be revived at any time |
What the law actually requires
The statute does not define “religious hijab” in measurable terms, and that vagueness is functional: it transfers discretion to whoever is enforcing. In practice the working standard has been a headscarf covering all hair, a loose coat (manteau) reaching mid-thigh or below, full-length trousers or a skirt, and no visible make-up considered excessive. Additional restrictions apply in specific settings — the chador in some government buildings and hospitals, dark colours in schools, full compliance for foreign women visiting on any visa, and for girls from the age of nine in school and public life.
The penalty ladder in practice
Prison is now the least common outcome. Since 2024 the state has preferred penalties that leave no footage and no detainee to publicise.
| Measure | How it is applied |
|---|---|
| SMS warning | Automated notice to the registered owner after camera identification of an uncovered woman in a vehicle |
| Vehicle impoundment | Confiscation for up to several weeks after repeat notices; hundreds of thousands of warnings reported in 2024 |
| Business closure | Sealing of cafes, restaurants, pharmacies and clinics that serve uncovered customers |
| Denial of services | Refusal at banks, government offices, airports and metro barriers |
| Employment and study | Dismissal from public-sector work, suspension from university, barring from examinations |
| Fines and flogging | Court fines; corporal sentences still imposed, as in the 74 lashes carried out on Roya Heshmati in January 2024 |
| Imprisonment | Applied to public figures, actresses, journalists and women who publish their defiance |
Who refuses, and what it costs them
Refusal predates 2022. The Girls of Revolution Street protests began on 27 December 2017 when Vida Movahed stood on a utility box on Enghelab Street in Tehran and held her white headscarf on a stick; dozens of women repeated the act and received sentences of up to two years. After September 2022 the scale changed: uncovered women became ordinary in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Rasht, and the state lost the ability to arrest its way out of the problem.
- Vida Movahed — the first Girl of Revolution Street, December 2017; detained repeatedly since.
- Sepideh Rashno — forced to confess on state television in 2022 after a bus confrontation over hijab.
- Roya Heshmati — flogged 74 times in January 2024 and published her own account of it.
- Ahou Daryaei — the student who stripped to her underwear at Azad University in Tehran in November 2024 after an enforcement encounter, and was taken to a psychiatric facility.
- Actresses and athletes — travel bans, confiscated passports and criminal cases against women who appeared uncovered at public events or abroad.
How the law is treated internationally
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran concluded in March 2024 that the enforcement of compulsory hijab constitutes gender persecution, a crime against humanity, and that the state’s response to the 2022 protests amounted to widespread and systematic violations. The EU, UK, US and Canada have sanctioned the Guidance Patrol and named commanders. In 2022 Iran was removed from the UN Commission on the Status of Women by a vote of the Economic and Social Council — the first such removal in the commission’s history.
Frequently asked questions
Is hijab still compulsory in Iran in 2026?
Yes. Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code remains in force and enforcement continues through the Noor Plan. The Hijab and Chastity Bill, which would sharpen penalties further, was suspended in December 2024 but never repealed.
Does the law apply to tourists and non-Muslims?
Yes. Every woman in a public place in Iran, regardless of nationality or religion, is legally required to cover her hair and wear loose clothing. Airlines instruct passengers to comply before landing.
At what age does compulsory hijab begin?
Nine, the age of legal majority for girls under Iranian law, which is also when school uniform requirements apply.
What is the Noor Plan?
A nationwide enforcement programme launched on 13 April 2024 that combines renewed street patrols with camera identification, automated SMS warnings, vehicle impoundment and the closure of businesses that serve uncovered customers.
What is the Hijab and Chastity Bill?
Legislation passed by parliament in September 2023 providing escalating fines, prison terms of up to ten years for “organised” non-compliance and reporting duties for business owners. It was suspended in December 2024 after warnings that enacting it could trigger renewed unrest.
Has the law been declared a crime against humanity?
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran found in March 2024 that Iran's enforcement of compulsory hijab amounts to gender persecution, which is listed as a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute.
