Latest Developments
Islamic Republic Promotes Vigilantism for Hijab Enforcement: Iran is becoming more reliant on technology, including surveillance cameras, drones, and facial recognition technology, to enforce its draconian laws requiring women to wear a hijab, according to a new UN experts report. The report, published on March 14, was produced by an independent international fact-finding commission on the Islamic Republic of Iran. It found that despite two and a half years of nationwide protests following the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022, Iran “is increasingly reliant on state-sponsored vigilantism in an apparent effort to enlist businesses and private individuals in hijab compliance, portraying it as a civic responsibility.”
Security Cameras, Drones, and Smartphone Apps: The report is the result of a two-year investigation with 38,000 pieces of evidence and interviews with 285 victims and witnesses. It cited surveillance tactics such as the use of cameras on major roadways to detect uncovered women, aerial drones monitoring women in public spaces, and the Amirkabir University in Tehran installing facial recognition software at its gate to detect women not wearing a hijab. A smartphone app called “Nazer” allows individuals to report incidents of hijab “violations” by specifying the location, date, time, and license plate of a vehicle each time they spot a woman with her hair on display.
Regime Cracks Down on Violators and Women’s Rights Supporters: Despite Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s promises to ease hijab law enforcement and his decision to pause the implementation of a new “Hijab and Chastity” law, the regime’s crackdown on hijab violations has intensified since the adoption of the so-called Noor plan in April 2024. The government also brutally punishes supporters of women’s rights, including by flogging Iranian singer Mehdi Yarranhi with 74 lashes after he released a song encouraging women to remove their hijabs. In December 2024, another Iranian singer, Parastoo Ahmadi, was arrested after releasing a video performance where she sang without a hijab.
FDD Expert Response
“Repression is both physical and digitized in the Islamic Republic. Electronic surveillance, including drones and cameras, is a fact of everyday life, extending the long arm of the regime into locations like automobiles and stores. The results of these violations include fines and penalties aimed at punishing even the smallest act of resistance against the regime’s draconian laws.” —Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran Program Senior Director and Senior Fellow
“Iran enforces the hijab because the regime regards women’s rights as a fundamental threat to its Islamist ideology. In Tehran’s paranoid worldview, the headscarf constitutes the only safeguard against the public’s descent into promiscuity, which Tehran perceives as an inherent feature of Western values and norms. The Iranian people rightly reject this simplistic binary and are bravely fighting for their freedoms.” — Tzvi Kahn, Research Fellow and Senior Editor
“Once dependent on China to establish its surveillance apparatus, the regime has cultivated a formidable domestic repression industry. The Islamic Republic’s insidious evolution in suppression tactics reflects its view of women’s rights as an existential threat. Deploying methods such as aerial drone surveillance to monitor its own citizens is the defining trait of a regime that is neither legitimate nor secure.” —Janatan Sayeh, Research Analyst
FDD Research and Analysis
“‘Ambiguities in the Law’: Iran Pauses Implementation of Draconian Hijab Legislation,” FDD Flash Brief
“Mapping Protests in Iran,” by Mark Dubowitz
“Iran’s new hijab law reflects on regime’s desperation,” by Tzvi Kahn
Issues:
International Organizations Iran Iran Human Rights