Iran announced plans to establish a ‘treatment facility’ for women who do not comply with the country’s compulsory hijab regulations, drawing immediate condemnation from human rights groups and Iranian women.
The head of the Women and Family Department Mehri Talebi Darestani of the Tehran Headquarters for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, stated the clinic will offer “scientific and psychological treatment for hijab removal.” The announcement has sparked fear and anger, with many viewing it as an escalation of the government’s crackdown on women’s rights.
“It won’t be a clinic, it will be a prison. We are struggling to make ends meet and have power outages, but a piece of cloth is what this state is worried about. If there was a time for all of us to come back to the streets, it’s now or they’ll lock us all up,” said one Iranian woman, as quoted by the Guardian.
The announcement followed reports of a university student, arrested for removing her clothing on campus after allegedly facing harassment by security guards for hijab violations, being transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have raised concerns about the use of forced medication and torture against protesters and dissidents deemed mentally unstable by Iranian authorities. “The idea of establishing clinics to ‘cure’ unveiled women is chilling, where people are separated from society simply for not conforming to the ruling ideology,” said Sima Sabet, a UK-based Iranian journalist and target of an assassination attempt last year.
Human rights lawyer Hossein Raisi criticiced the clinic idea as “neither Islamic [nor] aligned with Iranian law.” He also expressed alarm that the announcement originated from a department under the direct authority of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
This incident follows reports of increased arrests, disappearances, and business closures linked to alleged hijab law violations. Rights organisations, including Amnesty International, reported evidence of mistreatment and forced medication of protesters in state psychiatric facilities. They also noted increased enforcement of dress codes, including arrests, disappearances, and business closures related to hijab violations.
Recently, the Center for Human Rights in Iran reported the arrest of Roshanak Molaei Alishah, aged 25, following a confrontation with a man who had harassed her about her hijab. Her location remains unknown.
The hijab in Iran has been a deeply symbolic and contentious issue, tied to both religious identity and political control. Strict hijab enforcement has persisted under successive leaderships, including the deceased President Ebrahim Raisi. His successor, Masoud Pezeshkian, vowed to stop the morality police’s harassment of women over hijab violations, although Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei still holds the ultimate authority and maintains that unveiling is strictly forbidden. Despite a slight relaxation of enforcement, the Iranian government actively monitors hijab compliance, using surveillance technologies and targeting businesses and events where women appear without hijabs.
These mandates and restrictions have fueled public frustration over the years, but tensions reached a tipping point with the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. Her death, after being detained for allegedly violating hijab laws, ignited months of widespread protests with severe consequences for thousands who opposed the strict policies under Khamenei’s regime.