Defiance of compulsory veiling is now widespread in Iran, the Associated Press reported, after a government-approved visit in November found women and girls appearing in public without headscarves in one of the most visible social shifts since Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022.
The outlet’s journalists observed women and girls moving openly through public spaces without headscarves, a practice once met with immediate censure under years of tight enforcement. Along northern Tehran’s Vali-e Asr Street, uncovered hair was common among women of all ages.
“When I moved to Iran in 1999, letting a single strand of hair show would immediately prompt someone to tell me to tuck it back under my headscarf out of fear of the morality police taking me away,” Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told AP. “To see where Iran is today feels unimaginable: Women and girls openly defying mandatory hijab.”
“Authorities are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers across the country and worry that if they crack down – at a delicate time marked by power blackouts, water shortages, and a rotten economy – they could spur Iranians to return to the streets,” Dagres added.
Scenes around Tajrish Square, north of Tehran, according to the report, showed schoolgirls shedding their headscarves immediately after class and women shopping uncovered at the bazaar as police officers stood by.
“All of my life I had to wear hijab… at school, at university, everywhere in public,” an Iranian woman who recently emigrated to Canada told AP. “I always tried to follow the rules but it made me feel a lack of confidence… because I wore the hijab and I didn’t believe in that.”
Dissatisfaction acknowledged at the top
Iran’s rulers have long relied on strict hijab enforcement by police and Basij forces, with only limited periods of relaxed oversight. The current hesitation comes amid persistent power cuts, water shortages and a weakened economy, all of which risk fueling further anger, the report added.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has so far avoided directly addressing the issue since the year’s war with Israel and US strikes on nuclear sites.
The protests that erupted after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman detained by the morality police for allegedly violating Iran’s veiling rules, marked a turning point. Her death sparked some of the largest demonstrations in decades, with women publicly removing or burning their headscarves in defiance of the compulsory veiling law.
AP cited comments by President Masoud Pezeshkian’s social affairs adviser Mohammad-Javad Javadi-Yeganeh, who said unpublished polling by the Iranian Students Polling Agency shows widespread public discontent. The findings align with low turnout in last year’s presidential vote and continuing frustration over inflation, currency volatility and unemployment.
“We are answerable since we cannot provide services to people,” Pezeshkian said recently.
Elias Hazrati, head of the Pezeshkian administration’s information council, confirmed earlier this week that Khamenei had sent directives on hijab enforcement to the government, describing opponents of mandatory hijab as “a small number of people” engaged in “social disorder.” Days earlier, Pezeshkian told the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution that state bodies “must adhere to national laws and norms” on hijab.
Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei also instructed prosecutors to act against what he called “organized, foreign-linked” groups involved in “social disorder.”
For Iranians worn down by years of sanctions, economic stagnation and the fear of renewed conflict, uncertainty persists.
“Sometimes that fear is with me,” the woman in Canada said. “Sometimes when I’m behind the wheel, I try to find my headscarf on my head. That fear is still with me.”
Meteorologists say heavy smog will linger over the capital through Tuesday, with fine particulate pollution increasing sharply as calm weather prevents the dispersal of exhaust fumes and industrial emissions.
Officials have urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and limit time outdoors, especially at night and in the early morning when pollution peaks.
The city’s weather bureau warned that without stricter limits on factories and traffic, “air quality could reach very unhealthy levels” and health services should remain ready to respond.
The alert on Friday comes as air quality worsens across several major cities, including Isfahan, Tabriz, Karaj, Ahvaz, and Mashhad.
Recent readings in Tehran placed fine particulate concentrations well above safe limits, posing risks for children, the elderly, and those with respiratory or heart conditions.
Officials say calm winds have turned Tehran into a pollution trap. The Health Ministry estimates nearly 59,000 Iranians die every year from illnesses linked to poor air quality, with economic losses exceeding $17 billion — more than the country’s entire health budget.
Reliance on dirty fuels deepens the crisis
The worsening air coincides with a renewed use of mazut, a heavy, high-sulfur fuel oil, at power plants struggling with gas shortages.
Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi acknowledged the problem, saying the move was a last resort to keep power stations running during peak demand.
Environmental groups warn that relying on mazut — together with aging cars and weak emissions controls — keeps Iran’s major cities locked in a cycle of toxic air and public health damage.
Authorities have advised residents to wear masks, avoid strenuous outdoor activity, and limit vehicle use.
Experts say the combination of outdated fuel systems, traffic congestion, and winter weather patterns means Tehran is likely to face repeated air-quality emergencies unless major reforms — such as investment in cleaner energy and transport — are implemented soon.