An Unexpected Freedom Born of War: Iranian Women Go Without Hijabs

"The atmosphere now is that you don't have to wear one."

Fereshteh, a 33-year-old woman having dinner with a friend at a restaurant in northern Tehran on the 6th (local time), answered with a smile when asked if she was not wearing a hijab.

"The government hasn't set any official guidelines, but more and more women are not wearing hijabs," she said. "Unless you are going to places like government offices, you don't really worry about the hijab in daily life."

There were 17 female customers in the restaurant, 13 of whom were not wearing hijabs, while two others had them draped around their necks rather than covering their heads.

The friend accompanying Fereshteh said, "After the large-scale anti-government protests in January of this year, the crackdown on hijabs loosened, and then as the war began, the 'no-hijab' trend really took hold."

"The Iranian government likely eased the hijab rules because they thought that if they strictly enforced them while the Iranian people are already suffering due to the war, public sentiment would worsen even further," she explained.

The fact that the rigid and mandatory hijab requirement, which previously applied even to foreigners, has become so irrelevant can be seen, paradoxically, as a freedom granted by the war.

It is said that after the 'hijab protests' that erupted in Iran in 2022, the crackdown on hijabs had actually intensified.

While public crackdowns on women wearing hijabs 'improperly' decreased after the protests, the authorities reportedly employed methods such as using roadside cameras to meticulously monitor women not wearing hijabs inside cars and issuing fines.

In Iran, the hijab is not merely a piece of women's clothing.

It is a symbol of women's rights and freedom, and a yardstick for measuring the openness of society.

In fact, there is an underlying resistance to the hijab deep within Iranian society.

This is not only because mandatory hijab laws were forcibly introduced after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but also because it is considered an Arab style of dress rather than a Persian tradition.

For this reason, Iranian women have preferred colorful 'rusari' (scarves) that leave the front hair visible and cover only the back, rather than black hijabs that cover all their hair.

A notable feature of the recent 'no-hijab' phenomenon is that it transcends generations and economic status.

Even before the war, there were rare instances of women not wearing hijabs, but they were mostly seen in shopping malls in wealthy northern Tehran, and the vast majority were women in their 20s.

Even they would formally drape a hijab around their necks like a scarf, ready to put it on at any moment.

However, recently, women not wearing hijabs can be seen without difficulty in southern Tehran, where working-class families live, as well as among the middle-aged and older generations.

Some are not even draping the hijab around their necks at all.

"It's not just in Tehran," one Tehran resident said. "Women are not wearing hijabs in almost every city across the country."

There were even sightings of women walking the streets in short sleeves and men wearing shorts.

Previously in Iran, women had to cover their bodies with clothing reaching their wrists and ankles even in summer, and while men could wear short sleeves outdoors, they were not permitted to wear shorts.

Omid, a 28-year-old Tehran resident, said, "If you go to cafes where young people hang out at night, there are women wearing short skirts that reach their knees. It's no different from Europe," adding, "It's an amazing change."

Women riding motorcycles through downtown Tehran, which is legally prohibited for women, were also spotted.

Given that female anchors and advertising models on Iranian state television still maintain 'exemplary hijab wear' that completely covers their hair, it appears that the mandatory hijab policy has not been officially abolished.

It is a situation where an 'unpredictable freedom' continues precariously, with no way of knowing when the hijab crackdown might resume.

"If negotiations with the U.S. are concluded or fall through, I think they will probably crack down on hijabs again," Omid said, but added, "I don't know if the government can force people to give up a freedom they have once tasted."

He added, "Only if they achieve major economic results from the negotiations, such as the lifting of sanctions, will public sentiment not worsen even if they crack down on hijabs again."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.