With many Iranians pushing back against the mandatory hijab laws implemented by the Islamic Republic, it seems the Islamic Republic will continue pushing women to wear hijabs, even after their death.
The Iranian government forced a family in Kermanshah, west of Iran, to remove the picture of their deceased daughter from her tombstone because she was not wearing a hijab.
The Islamic Republic has urged an Iranian family to remove the picture of their deceased daughter from the tombstone because it was without a hijab.https://t.co/KmpjcT5nBb
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 29, 2023
The municipal government of Kermanshah said the family signed a letter of commitment, promising that they would not put pictures of their daughter without a hijab, “but unfortunately, this family did not comply with the regulations and must replace it as soon as possible.”
This is so sick.
— Ronaro (@Ron2308) April 30, 2023
The warning was in accordance with an intensified move to enforce the Islamic Republic’s dress code more strictly in all public and private life aspects, including cemeteries. Last year, Iran started implementing this measure in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, the country’s largest cemetery near the capital Tehran.
The cemetery removed hundreds of gravestones that had pictures showing women without hijabs. Saeed Ghazanfari, the cemetery director, said the procedure would continue in the future "in accordance with the opinion of [religious] scholars” until all tombstones showing hijab-less pictures are removed.
8 headstones bearing the images of unveiled or partially-veiled women have been removed from #Tehran’s largest cemetery as part of a crackdown on so-called “bad hijab” in #Iran.https://t.co/50T88kFlQU #truth #Iran
— IranWire (@IranWireEnglish) July 31, 2022
Even though many Iranians have strongly resisted Iran’s mandatory hijab laws, partly due to Mahsa Amini’s death in September 2022, the Islamic Republic persisted in implementing the law more harshly, with negative consequences.
For instance, the government closed down 2,000 businesses, primarily restaurants and cafes, in March alone because female customers and staff allegedly failed to comply with the Islamic dress code, causing massive unemployment.
Hardline media also reported that shops owned by celebrities and athletes were either shut down or given warnings for not abiding by the mandatory hijab law.
The campaign to enforce the hijab laws stirred violent incidents between pro-hijab vigilantes and Iranians who opposed it. Last April, two women were attacked with a yogurt tub at a shop because they did not wear a hijab. While the man who poured the yogurt on the two women was arrested, the victims were also arrested for not wearing a headscarf.
