Prominent Iranian Religious Scholar Says Hijab Law Should Be Abolished, Urges Authorities To Stop Inciting Violence

Sedigheh Vasmaghi, a renowned Iranian religious scholar and political activist who openly opposes the Islamic republic's draconian hijab law, has a simple explanation for why the country's clerical establishment turns to violence to enforce hard-line policies the majority does not support.

"They believe that people should always submit to the government without question," Vasmaghi told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in an exclusive interview on November 1, just days after she herself was beaten by security forces while showing solidarity with victims of the state’s brutal crackdown on hijab violators.

Resorting to violence to enforce unpopular rules like the Islamic dress code, she explained, goes against good governance and does nothing to reduce long-standing tensions between society and the country’s clerical rulers.

"This is mismanagement. Ignoring the will of the people is very, very costly," Vasmaghi said. "The government must stop violence and not encourage it."

Vasmaghi is an accomplished author and poet who has often run afoul of the Iranian authorities. In 2011, an arrest warrant was issued prior to her departure to teach at a university in Germany. She was later invited by the independent International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN), which offers shelter to writers and artists at risk, to reside in Sweden. Upon her return to Iran in 2017, she was arrested in what rights groups decried as a politically motivated move linked to her writings and political views.

In Iran, Vasmaghi has continued to voice her criticism of the hijab law and other hard-line policies of the Islamic republic. In an April letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, she accused Iran's most powerful figure of being responsible for the "financial, physical, social, moral, psychological, and political" consequences of confronting opponents of the controversial law.

Vasmaghi wore a head scarf for years but now appears in public without one. Earlier this month, she exhibited her defiance by appearing in a televised interview without a hijab.

And on October 29, she was one of dozens who were assaulted by Iranian security forces while attending the funeral of 17-year-old Armita Garavand, who died weeks after an alleged altercation with the morality police enforcing the hijab requirement.

Vasmaghi said in an Instagram post on November 1 that she had received messages from many friends who "condemned the reprehensible behavior" of the security personnel who allegedly assaulted her. She also lauded those who have gone to prison for fighting for their rights.

"It is regrettable that our brave and patriotic men and women are in prison, while the unworthy sit in positions of power," she wrote.

In her interview with Radio Farda the same day, Vasmaghi said Iran’s hard-liners personally favor the hijab and use their positions and control over the judiciary and police to enforce their views.

"Our problems stem from…the government's blatant intervention to incite violence in society and the use of all power institutions to suppress the people's will," Vasmaghi said. "In my opinion, the majority of people are against the compulsory hijab. But these people have no support. They have no means to defend themselves."

She said that the main instigator of the discord over the hijab within society is the government itself.

"You don't see people having problems with each other on the streets in this regard," Vasmaghi said. "Those who cause harassment are government forces who do this at the instigation of the higher authorities."

The death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022 after her arrest for allegedly improperly wearing the hijab led to months of nationwide protests that thrust women's rights and public disapproval of the hijab law to the forefront. The Iranian authorities responded with a brutal crackdown that left more than 500 protesters dead and the introduction of an even harsher hijab law that increased penalties and prison sentences for violators.

Vasmaghi expressed dismay over why the Islamic republic, in the face of widespread public anger, takes such drastic position when confronted by public protest.

"The government wants to increase the cost of opposing the compulsory hijab by resorting to force," Vasmaghi said. "But it's not just about the hijab. It was the same with the protests against the rise in gasoline prices [in 2019]. It was the same with the protests against the election results [in 2009]."

The solution for Iran, if the authorities respected the views of the Iranian people, Vasmaghi said, would be to hold referendums. In the case of the hijab, she said steps should be taken to protect both those who wear the hijab and those who choose not to.

"A law that has created tensions in Iran for decades should have been abolished long ago," Vasmaghi said. "The majority who do not accept this law should not have their blood shed and be threatened."

She said the law in practice "disrespects" even the women who prefer to wear the hijab.

"When there is only one option, and that is the compulsory hijab, it means that the right to choose has been taken away from all women" Vasmaghi said.

Vasmaghi does not blame those in the military or security and police forces who enforce the law, saying they are just following orders from those who should be held responsible.

Ultimately, she said, the authorities are fighting a losing battle against the advancement of society and women's rights.

"When even women who wear the veil are against the compulsory hijab, the government's efforts are futile, and any blood spilled is at the government's loss and, of course, a cost to the nation," Vasmaghi said.

"But this movement is going forward,” referring to the Women, Life, Freedom movement that was triggered by Amini’s death. “There is no possibility of going back. Even if they scare the people, the people will still want to move forward."