Iran Hijab Crackdown Intensifies Nationwide

Iran’s compulsory hijab enforcement remains an active nationwide gender-rights crackdown. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported in April 2024 that police were carrying out a violent campaign against women and girls across Iran, with widespread arrests and harassment, including many girls aged 15–17, and the use of surveillance cameras to identify noncompliant women drivers. The OHCHR also said hundreds of businesses had been forcibly closed for not enforcing compulsory hijab rules and that a draft law was nearing approval that would impose even harsher punishments, including prison terms, flogging, and fines. More recent human-rights reporting indicates the enforcement strategy has shifted rather than ended. Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2026 said authorities continued to maintain and enforce compulsory hijab rules in 2025, prosecuting women and girls, impounding vehicles, closing businesses, and using digital surveillance such as traffic cameras. It also said the Hijab and Chastity law was suspended but not repealed, and that official statements in late 2025 signaled a renewed wave of crackdown. The Center for Human Rights in Iran reported in 2025 that at least 50 establishments were sealed between late June and early October 2025 for ‘improper hijab,’ with closures, undercover agents, and surveillance increasingly replacing visible street patrols, especially outside Tehran. The impact is nationwide and affects women and girls in public life, including workers, students, drivers, and business owners. Enforcement has been reported in Tehran and other urban centers, but also in smaller cities and towns across Iran, with restrictions reaching workplaces, universities, banks, official buildings, and mixed-gender gatherings. Public resistance has forced some tactical retreat in parts of the country, but no official repeal has occurred and the legal basis for enforcement remains in force.