Iranian officials, including conservative politician Ali Motahari, acknowledge a shift in hijab enforcement, suggesting police will focus on severe violations. Despite the law requiring hijabs, significant social change has emerged since Jina Mahsa Amini's death in police custody, fostering a movement toward women's autonomy. A Tehrani journalist emphasized the irreversible changes that have occurred, exemplified by women publicly challenging dress codes. This includes acts like women carrying the coffin of a deceased poet without headscarves, challenging longstanding gender norms and advocating for personal choice in attire amid a backdrop of state repression.
"What we have achieved in the last three years can no longer be taken away by the state," a gender researcher and journalist from Tehran told DW.
"They can no longer force us to follow their rules and automatically wear a headscarf every time we leave the house," she says.
Ali Motahari stated, 'You have to know that even at the time of the Shah, before the 1979 revolution, women were arrested if they did not dress decently in public.'
Motahari suggested that police should only intervene in the event of gross violations of the hijab law, showing a shift in enforcement policy.
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