Where Did Iran's Hijab Police Go?

At first glance, the tree-lined sidewalks of Valiasr Street -- Tehran’s cultural and commercial hub -- look ordinary. It’s what you don’t see that is radical.

Women move through the city in sleeveless tops and short-sleeved dresses, loose trousers, and fitted jeans. Some wear head scarves by choice. Many do not. Cafes are busy, traffic crawls.

No one appears to be watching or really paying much attention to what is going on. And that’s what stands out most.

The once-feared patrols that policed women’s clothing head to toe have largely vanished from everyday street life. The compulsory hijab rules are still there, but their enforcement has visibly eased across Iran’s major cities, previously battlegrounds for women fighting against the so-called morality police for freedom.

“I haven’t seen any hijab patrols in a very long time,” one Tehran resident in her late 30s told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda. She spoke on condition of anonymity over security concerns. “Women dress as they like.”

Anti-Hijab Protests

The shift follows years of resistance by women that culminated in the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests and has accelerated in recent months amid Iran’s war with the United States and broader political strains.

“Just a few years ago, this was unthinkable,” noted one mother of two in her 40s who said she now runs errands without any head covering and in short sleeves without incident.

She recalled a recent visit to a government finance office without covering her hair. At the door, an employee asked her to put on a head scarf --but only until she passed the entrance.

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“The employee told me, ‘You can remove it when you leave,’” she said. “It made me laugh. They know exactly how women feel about the hijab.”

It’s hard to say exactly what is behind the shift -- government officials have not commented on it -- but analysts say it likely reflects political calculation rather than reform.

Just weeks before the war broke out on February 28, protests rocked the Islamic republic as what started as demonstrations over rising prices spiraled into massive anti-regime unrest.

Security officials killed thousands -- some reports say tens of thousands -- in streets across the country to put down the uprising, and analysts say the government likely wants to avoid stoking tensions at a time when Iranians are trying to cope with the effects of the war.

“The Iranian government was forced to accept what women demanded regarding the hijab,” said Mansoureh Shojaee, a women’s rights activist, author, and researcher based in Europe. “The violence and crackdown that existed before -- it is not happening anymore. But that does not mean the law has changed.”

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She noted that even the appearance of unveiled women on state television in recent months reflects pressure from below, though authorities attempt to control the message.

“The government is using it for propaganda,” she said. “It’s saying: I don’t mind women without hijab as long as they accept me and my policies.”

Still, the risks remain tangible. Earlier this year, Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi was sentenced to 74 lashes for recording and performing a song without wearing a hijab.

Conservative City

Outside the capital, enforcement appears more uneven. In Mashhad, one of Iran’s most conservative cities, Mahnoush, who gave only her first name, said that while daily life remains more restrictive than in Tehran, it’s still markedly different from the past.

“There are conservative women who wear full hijab,” she said, “but there are also many women who don’t cover their heads at all.”

Even during last week’s Muharram religious events, an important period in Shi’ite Islam, she said many young women appeared in colorful clothing instead of the traditional black.

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Restrictions remain in specific areas. At the city’s Imam Reza Shrine and surrounding hotels and bazaars, officers still tell female visitors to cover their hair, she said. “But in cafes, streets, public transport, no one cares what you wear.”

Women across Iran told RFE/RL that an easing in enforcement began after the 2022 protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini while in custody for an alleged head scarf offense. Since the war stopped through a cease-fire between the United States and Iran -- signed in early April and renewed in June -- enforcement has eased further.

Sana, a university student in Karaj, a city in north-central Iran, believes the direction of change cannot be reversed.

“The road to full freedom may be short, or it may take many years,” she said. “But once a society decides to change, change becomes inevitable.”

Written and reported by Farangis Najibullah with additional reporting by Hannah Kaviani. RFE/RL's Radio Azadi correspondent Firuza Azizi also contributed to this report.