Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the hijab became the mandatory dress code for all Iranian women by the order of Ayatollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of the new Islamic Republic.
Restrictions sparked several movements by activists and ordinary citizens who challenged the mandatory hijab, seeking more freedom and rights for women. Already the day after the introduction of mandatory hijab, the 1979 International Women's Day protests in Tehran erupted, delaying the introduction of the new laws. However, the government has throughout the decades cracked down on protests with violence, notably during the Mahsa Amini protests (2022–2023). In September 2024, on the second anniversary of the death of Amini, Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian said that morality police will no longer "bother" women over the wearing of the hijab.
Historically, the hijab became widely adopted in Iran during the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) as Shia Islam was established as the official religion, and it remained a prevalent cultural practice through the Qajar era (1789–1925). The subsequent Pahlavi era (1925–1979) was marked by significant fluctuations in state policy. Reza Shah (1925–1941) enforced the forced unveiling of women (Kashf-e hijab) as a secularization measure to modernize the country. Mohammad Reza Shah (1941–1979), in contrast, adopted a more permissive approach toward women's dress, from Western styles, fostered among the urban elite, to hijabs.
Most Iranian women wear a shawl, a headscarf, a shayla, or a chador, but in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sunni Muslims and Baloch people commonly wear black niqabs as a sign of familial piety and modesty, while the most popular type of head covering among residents of Qeshm Island is a burqah mask.
History Muslims conquered Iran in the time of Umar (637 CE) and Iranians gradually converted to Islam and adopted Muslim customs such as hijab. Before the conquests, Iranians wore a variety of clothes and even wore veil similar to hijab. During the Middle Ages, Turkic nomadic tribes from Central Asia arrived, whose women did not wear headscarves.Heath, Jennifer (2008). The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics, Berkeley; Los Angeles: the University of California Press, p. 66, 252–253, 256, 260, Keddie, Nikki R. (2005). "2. The past and present of women in the Muslim world" in Moghissi, Haideh: Women and Islam: Images and realities, Vol. 1, p. 53-79, Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge; Taylor & Francis,
Safavid era As part of Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam (from 1501 to 1736) centralization in the 16th century, the headscarf became defined as the standard headdress for many religious women in urban areas all around the Safavid Empire.Mitchell, Colin P. (2011). New Perspectives on Safavid Iran: Empire and Society, Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Taylor & Francis, p. 98-99, 104, Exceptions to this were seen only in the villages and among nomadic tribes,Floor, Willem M. (2003). Agriculture in Qajar Iran, Washington, DC: Mage Publishers, p. 113, 268, Chehabi, Houchang Esfandiar (2003): "11. The Banning of the Veil and Its Consequences" in Cronin, Stephanie: The Making of Modern Iran: State and Society under Riza Shah, 1921–1941, p. 203-221, London; New York: Routledge; Taylor & Francis, Bullock, Katherine (2002). Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical & Modern Stereotypes, Herndon, Virginia; London: International Institute of Islamic Thought, p. 90-91, such as Qashqai. Covering the whole face was rare among the Iranians and was mostly restricted to local Arabs and local Afghans.
However, hijab was not uniform and monolithic in Safavid Iran. Women from different ethnic and religious groups wore different styles and colors of veils and headscarves, reflecting their regional and cultural identities. Some women also wore hats, turbans, and bonnets, influenced by European fashion.
The Safavid court was also a place of diversity and splendor in terms of clothing. The royal women wore elaborate and luxurious garments, made of silk, velvet, brocade, and fur, embroidered with gold and silver, and adorned with jewels and pearls. They also wore different types of head coverings, such as mandils (turban material), qalānsūwas (conical caps), and tāj (crowns).
Qajar era During the Qajar era, the hijab was a prevalent fashion choice for women, as it reflected the cultural, religious, and political identity of Qajar Iran. The hijab was enforced by the Islamic dress code for women, which was introduced by the Safavid dynasty and continued by the Qajars. The hijab was often made of colorful and patterned fabrics, and sometimes adorned with pearls, feathers, or flowers, however, In the later Qajar period, women's clothing became more elaborate and diverse, reflecting the influence of European styles and fabrics. Women wore long dresses with tight waists and wide skirts, often made of silk, velvet, or brocade. They also wore jackets, vests, and shawls over their dresses, and decorated their outfits with embroidery, lace, ribbons, and jewels.
During the era of slavery in Iran, female slaves (kaniz) were allowed to move about alone in public outside of the sex segregation of the harem unveiled, which separated them from free women. p. 57
The Qajar dynasty faced many internal and external challenges and pressures, such as the Constitutional Revolution (1905–11), the Tobacco Protest (1890–91), and the 1907 Anglo-Russian agreement. These events affected the lives and roles of women in Iran, who participated in various social and political movements, such as the women's awakening, the women's association, and the women's parliament. Some women also advocated for women's rights and education, such as Bibi Khanum Astarabadi, Tuba Azmudeh, and Sediqeh Dowlatabadi. during the economic crisis in the late 19th century under the Qajar dynasty, the poorest religious urban womenBāmdād Badr-al-Mulūk and Frank Ronald Charles Bagley. From Darkness into Light Women's Emancipation in Iran. Mazda Publ., 2013. could not afford headscarves,Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers, Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, p. 19, 34–37, therefore Women were protected, secluded in the home or had to wear the chador.
Pahlavi era In the 1920s, a few individual Iranian women started to appear unveiled, despite the cultural pressure to veil. In 1924, the singer Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri broke gender segregation and seclusion by performing unveiled in the gender-mixed company at the Grand Hotel in Tehran, and the Royal Palace Theater. Reza Shah, a military officer who supported "Westernized women active outside the home" and opposed the influence of religious clerics, came to power in December 1925.Abrahamian, Iran Between Two Revolutions, 1982, p. 140 Iranian women's rights activists supported the unveiling, and the feminist Sediqeh Dowlatabadi is believed to have been the first woman in Iran to have appeared in public without the veil in 1928. To appear without a veil or even favor it in public debate was very controversial, and women's rights activists who spoke in favor of unveiling sometimes had to be protected by the police.Sanasarian E. The Women's Rights Movement in Iran : Mutiny Appeasement and Repression from 1900 to Khomeini. New York N.Y: Praeger; 1982. In 1926, the Shah specifically provided police protection for individual women who appeared unveiled but with a scarf or a hat to cover the hair.Women and Politics in Iran: Veiling, Unveiling, and. Reveiling. By Hamideh Sedghi. New York: Cambridge University. Press. 2007. p. 85
In 1928, the Queen of Afghanistan, Soraya Tarzi, appeared unveiled publicly with the Shah during her official visit to Iran. The clergy protested and asked the Shah to tell the foreign queen to cover up, but he refused. His refusal caused rumors that the Shah planned to abolish the veil in Iran. In 1928, Shah's wife, queen (Tadj ol-Molouk) attended the Fatima Masumeh Shrine during her pilgrimage in Qom wearing a veil that did not cover her completely, as well as showing her face, for which a cleric harshly criticized her.Fazle Chowdhury: Promises of Betrayals: The History That Shaped the Iranian Shia Clerics As a response, Reza Shah publicly beat the cleric who had criticised the queen the next day.
As a method of the modernization of the country, and following the example of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey, the shah encouraged women's participation in society. The unveiling of women would have huge symbolic importance toward this and women's emancipation in general, but the shah introduced the reform gradually so as not to cause unrest.
Female teachers were encouraged to unveil in 1933, and schoolgirls and women students in 1935. The reform not only allowed female teachers and students not to veil, but allowed female students to study alongside men. All these reforms were opposed and criticized by the Shia clergy.
In 1935, the women's committee Kanun-e Banovan (Ladies Society) was formed with the support of the government. The committee's women's rights activists campaigned for unveiling.
Kashf-e hijab
On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah issued a decree banning all veils, known as Kashf-e hijab ().Milani, Farzaneh (1992). Veils and Words: The Emerging Voices of Iranian Women Writers, Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, p. 19, 34–37, The official declaration of unveiling was made on 8 January 1936, where the queen and her daughters were given an important role in this event. That day, Reza Shah attended the graduation ceremony of the Tehran Teacher's College with the queen and their two daughters unveiled and dressed in modern clothes. The queen handed out diplomas while the Shah spoke against the historic marginalization of Iranian women, telling the female graduates that the future was now in their hands. This was the first time an Iranian queen had shown herself in public. Afterwards, the Shah published pictures of his unveiled wife and daughters, and the unveiling was enforced throughout Iran. To enforce this decree, the police were ordered to physically remove the veil from any women who wore it publicly.Hoodfar, Homa (fall 1993). The Veil in Their Minds and On Our Heads: The Persistence of Colonial Images of Muslim Women, Resources for feminist research (RFR) / Documentation sur la recherche féministe (DRF), Vol. 22, n. 3/4, pp. 5–18, Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE), As a result, many pious traditionalist women chose not leave their houses to avoid confrontations,Katouzian, Homa (2006). State and Society in Iran: The Eclipse of the Qajars and the Emergence of the Pahlavis, 2nd ed, Library of modern Middle East studies, Vol. 28, London; New York: I.B. Tauris, pp. 33–34, 335–336, and a few conservative women even committed suicide to avoid removing their hijabs due to the decree.
The ban was enforced for five years, until Reza Shah was deposed in 1941. The Iranian women's movement had generally favored unveiling,Shahidian, Hammed. "The Iranian Left and the ‘Woman Question’ in the Revolution of 1978–79." International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 26, no. 2, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 223–47, http://www.jstor.org/stable/164734 . and many of Iran's leading feminists and women's rights activists organized in the Kanun-e Banuvan to campaign in favor of the Kashf-e hijab, among them Hajar Tarbiat, Khadijeh Afzal Vaziri and Sediqeh Dowlatabadi, Farrokhroo Parsa and Parvin E'tesami.Hamideh Sedghi, “FEMINIST MOVEMENTS iii. IN THE PAHLAVI PERIOD,” Encyclopædia Iranica, IX/5, pp. 492–498, Accessed 30 December 2012.