Girls in Iran are more and more deciding to not put on the veil in public, a senior journalist who visited Tehran has mentioned.
Girls in Iran are required to cowl their hair and put on lengthy, loose-fitting garments to disguise their hair in public below Iran’s Sharia legislation.
Mr Engel mentioned though there are indicators in eating places, cafes and accommodations telling them they need to put on Islamic gown based on the legislation, ladies are “brazenly” not listening to them anymore.
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Iranian ladies in Tehran. File pic: Reuters
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“You walk down the street and I would say just by observation, maybe 30-40% of women are not wearing headscarves anymore,” he mentioned.
As an alternative, the ladies would put on a bit scarf round their necks “in case there’s an issue”, permitting them to “quickly just pull it over their hair”.
“They’re walking by the police stations, they’re walking by government ministries. I’ve seen people walking with the women with their hair out, walking right past groups of what you would consider the morality police, and they don’t say anything.
“They’ve stopped imposing it every day and that may be a vital change.”
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However he added: “I don’t think they have given up. I’m not sure that this is the end of the road.”
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Mahsa Amini
Mr Engel mentioned protests throughout the nation following the demise of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2023, which had been countered with a “brutal” crackdown, “seem to have made a difference”.
“The government, at least right now, has decided it doesn’t want to fight that fight and it is not picking that fight. And people here are hoping that that is the start of significant changes.”
Picture:
Iranian ladies carrying headscarves. Pic: Reuters
‘Individuals are speaking about it’
The reprieve might be short-term, he added, explaining: “It could be that the government has other priorities right now and therefore has put this one on the back burner, but it is happening and it’s obvious and people are talking about it.”
He mentioned one girl had performed a TV interview with out her scarf on along with her “long hair down to below her shoulders” – one thing that will have been “unthinkable” a couple of years in the past.
“Even in north Tehran years ago, people may not have been wearing them, or they were barely wearing them, but if we interviewed them on camera, they would quickly wrap themselves up so they wouldn’t get in trouble, even if they found it personally annoying.
“Now she mentioned ‘let’s do it’ and did not care. That is a way of confidence that I’ve by no means seen on this nation.”
‘Extremely courageous’
“We can’t overstate how brave it is because it was a death sentence before for these women. It was unthinkable for them not to have their headscarves on,” she mentioned.
