Despite a new plan by the Iranian police to crack down more severely on those opposing the wearing of the hijab -- the head covering compulsory for Muslim women -- reports and images published on social media indicate that a significant number of Iranian women and girls continue to resist the measures.
On April 17, psychology and social-science students from Tehran University gathered to protest policies controlling clothing and the security forces' pressure to enforce the compulsory wearing of the hijab on campus.
دانشجویان #دانشگاه_تهران: «مهسای ما، نیکای ما، ندای آزادی ما»؛ بر اساس ویدئوهای منتشر شده در شبکه‌های اجتماعی دانشجویان دانشکده‌ی علوم اجتماعی دانشگاه تهران در اعتراض به سیاست‌های کنترل پوشش، تعلیق دانشجویان و مسمویت مشکوک در مدارس تجمع کردند. pic.twitter.com/5fuZvWUYFe
— RadioFarda|راديو فردا (@RadioFarda_) April 16, 2023
Iranian women opposing the hijab also continued to post pictures of themselves without the compulsory scarf on social media, in a challenge of the new police plan to identify culprits by using smart cameras.
The commander of the Islamic republic's police force had threatened that starting on April 16, the police would use closed-circuit television cameras and smart systems in cities to identify women without the hijab and send repeat offenders to "judicial courts."
The hijab became mandatory in Iran shortly after the 1979 revolution, by order of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic. However, no law had been passed at that time restricting women's clothing in Iran.
Despite more than four decades of compulsory hijab enforcement under the Islamic republic, Iran has recently seen widespread and comprehensive protests condemning the compulsory hijab and demanding the overthrow of the Islamic republic system.
Following protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September in custody for allegedly violating the strict Islamic dress code for women, many women and girls in Iran have openly opposed the imposed dress code, appearing in public without a hijab.
Numerous protests have been held at universities, particularly in Tehran, where many students have refused to attend class. Protesting students have chanted "Woman, life, freedom" and "Death to the dictator" at the rallies, while some female students have removed and burned their head scarves.