Iranian journalist Zeinab Rahimi has chosen not to wear the mandatory hijab for more than two years, despite the continuing risk of arrest and imprisonment.
She is part of a growing number of women and girls who have stopped covering their heads in public, openly defying the country’s clerical establishment.
“I enjoy seeing women dress as they wish and letting their hair show,” Rahimi told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, describing the noticeable changes on the streets of Tehran, the Iranian capital.
“We haven’t experienced this in our country for many years,” the 22-year-old added. “It feels liberating not to have to cover yourself, especially when it’s something you have never wanted to do.”
Protests spark a nationwide shift
The shift in public behaviour began after the nationwide protests that erupted in 2022, following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested for allegedly violating hijab rules.
Women played a prominent role in those protests, with some removing and burning their headscarves. The demonstrations became one of the most significant challenges to Iran’s leadership in decades, with some participants calling for an end to clerical rule.
In response, the authorities initially intensified efforts to enforce the hijab, which has been compulsory since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Last year, hard-line lawmakers passed a controversial new law strengthening hijab enforcement. Under the proposed legislation, violators could face long prison sentences, heavy fines, and travel restrictions.
However, concerned about the potential for renewed unrest, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council later suspended the implementation of the so-called Hijab and Chastity Law.
Earlier this month, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, a member of the Expediency Council, an advisory body to Iran’s supreme leader stated that the hijab law was effectively unenforceable. Speaking on 3 October, he said there was “no compulsory hijab law currently in force.”
His remarks drew criticism from conservative figures but also reflected the reality in many major cities, where enforcement has become less strict and public attitudes are shifting.
Everyday defiance and changing attitudes
Radio Farda spoke to 12 women in seven cities across Iran who confirmed that increasing numbers of women are now seen without headscarves in public spaces such as streets, cafés and restaurants.
Rahimi said this change has been gradual. Following the 2022 protests, women who went without a hijab often kept a scarf in their bag or draped loosely around their shoulders in case they encountered the morality police.
“Now, women go out without any headscarf at all,” she said. “They neither wear it nor carry it with them.”
Nevertheless, Rahimi noted that many women continue to wear the hijab out of concern for possible repercussions from the authorities.
While the defiance is most visible in larger cities, similar attitudes are emerging in smaller towns. A woman in the southwestern city of Yasuj, who spoke anonymously, said the number of women going without the hijab there remains relatively low compared to Tehran, but those who do are widely regarded as courageous.
A change that may be here to stay
Many Iranian women believe these social changes are irreversible.
“This transformation cannot be undone or controlled,” said Mojgan Ilanlou, a Tehran-based filmmaker who has documented Iranian women’s experiences. “That doesn’t mean the government has changed its position on the hijab.”
According to Ilanlou, the authorities have been “compelled to step back” by “the persistence of Iranian women who fought for their right to choose how they dress and now seek to preserve that progress.”
“They understand that resisting this shift would come at a significant cost,” she added.
