Iranian women forgo hijab as second death anniversary of Mahsa Amini approaches

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Women without the mandatory headscarf (hijab) are increasingly seen on the streets of Iranian cities. The second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked is approaching.

There is no government official or study acknowledging the phenomenon. It began when Iran entered the hot summer months and blackouts became frequent in the overloaded power grid. Yet social media is filled with videos of people filming neighborhood streets or simply talking about a normal day in their lives. Especially after sunset, women and girls can be seen walking by with their long hair over their shoulders.

This resistance comes despite what the United Nations describes as the Iranian theocracy's “expanding repressive measures and policies” to punish protesters – even though there has been no recent catalyzing event such as Amini's death to mobilize protesters.

The country's new reform-minded president, Masoud Pezeshkian, promised during the election campaign to end the harassment of women by the morality police. But the country's highest authority remains the 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has said in the past that “exposure is both religiously and politically forbidden.”

For some devout Muslim women, the head covering is a sign of piety before God and modesty towards men outside their family. In Iran, the hijab – and the all-encompassing black chador that some wear – has long been a political symbol as well.

“Meaningful institutional change and accountability for serious human rights violations and crimes under international law, as well as crimes against humanity, remain elusive for victims and survivors, particularly women and children,” a UN fact-finding mission on Iran warned on Friday.

Amini, 22, died in a hospital on September 16, 2022, after being arrested by the country's morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab against the authorities' wishes. The protests that followed Amini's death initially began with chants of “women, life, freedom.” But soon the protesters' cries turned into open calls for an uprising against Khamenei.

In the months-long crackdown by security forces that followed, more than 500 people were killed and more than 22,000 arrested.

Today, you can regularly see women without hijabs on the streets of Tehran, whether in the upscale northern suburbs for the rich or in the working-class districts in the south of the capital. It starts especially at dusk, but even on weekends you can see women with uncovered hair in large parks.

Online videos, particularly a subgenre of walking tours of the city's streets for people in rural areas or abroad who want a glimpse of life in Tehran's bustling neighborhoods, also feature women without hijabs.

Something that could have stopped anyone in their tracks in the decades following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 is no longer recognized today.

“My quasi-courage not to wear a headscarf is a legacy of Mahsa Amini and we must protect this as an achievement,” said a 25-year-old student at Tehran's Sharif University, who gave only her first name, Azadeh, for fear of reprisals. “She could be as old as me if she hadn't died.”

Disobedience still carries risks. Months after the protests ended, Iran's morality police returned to the streets.

Since then, there have been sporadic videos of women and young girls being abused by police officers. In 2023, an Iranian teenage girl was injured in a mysterious incident on the Tehran metro for not wearing a headscarf. She later died in hospital. In July, police opened fire on a woman who fled a checkpoint to avoid having her car confiscated for not wearing a hijab, according to activists.

Meanwhile, the government has targeted private businesses where women are seen without headscarves. Surveillance cameras are searching for women walking around unveiled in vehicles in order to fine them and confiscate their cars. The government has even gone so far as to use drones to search the 2024 Tehran International Book Fair and the island of Kish for unveiled women, according to the UN.

Still, some believe that Pezeshkian's election in July – after Iran's hardline President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May – will help ease tensions over the hijab issue.

“I think the current peaceful atmosphere is part of the situation after Pezeshkian took office,” said Hamid Zarrinjouei, a 38-year-old bookseller. “In a way, Pezeshkian could convince powerful people that more restrictions do not necessarily make women more faithful to the hijab.”

On Wednesday, Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad warned security forces against physical confrontations over the hijab.

“We have pursued the lawbreakers and will continue to do so,” Movahedi Azad said, according to Iranian media. “No one has the right to behave inappropriately, even if they have committed a crime.”

While the government has not directly addressed the rising number of women not wearing the hijab, there are other signs that it recognizes that the political landscape has changed. In August, authorities fired a university lecturer a day after he appeared on state television and disparagingly referred to Amini as “a slob.”

Meanwhile, the pre-reform newspaper Ham Mihan reported in August that an unpublished survey conducted under the supervision of Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance had found that the hijab had become one of the most important issues in the country – something that had never happened before.

“This issue concerns people more than ever before,” sociologist Simin Kazemi told the newspaper.

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Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.