HRANA is closely following reports of increased street violence. Iranian women face not only legal repercussions when it comes to mandatory hijab in Iran but also mounting personal safety risks, as incidents of harassment and intimidation by private individuals have surged.
Reports received by HRANA detail disturbing trends in harassment aimed at women who reject hijab mandates in favor of personal choice, suggesting a coordinated campaign to enforce compliance through fear. This report examines critical incidents, revealing the full scope of pressure exerted on Iranian women in the name of enforcing hijab and societal norms.
In recent months, Iran’s streets have become an even more dangerous environment for women resisting the country’s mandatory hijab laws. HRANA reports indicate a troubling trend: women who choose not to wear the hijab now face increased hostility and threats from individuals on the street, often on motorcycles.
Government campaigns, including the enactment of the “Noor” plan, the new so-called Hijab and Chastity bill and penalties for those opposing mandatory hijab, and the organization of street monitors under names like “Hijab Watchs,” together appear to have emboldened harassers, turning public spaces into areas of fear for women who dare to defy the dress code.
In recent months, HRANA has documented numerous cases of women narrowly escaping what seem to be premeditated, organized scare tactics aimed at enforcing hijab compliance. One young woman recounted her encounter with a motorcyclist who sped toward her on the sidewalk, swerving away only at the last moment. In another case, taxi drivers advised a harassed woman to wear a hijab “for her safety.”
These incidents are not isolated. They represent a broader, systematic effort to instill fear and deter resistance to hijab within the framework of government-led campaigns for mandatory hijab enforcement. While those committing these acts may not be government officials, the timing of these attacks with the recent wave of hijab enforcement raises serious questions about the State’s complicity.
The brazen harassment climaxed on October 31, when a woman on Africa Street in Tehran became the victim of unwelcome sexual harassment by a motorcyclist.
Despite her clear distress, authorities opted to treat her not as a victim, but as a criminal. Tehran’s police swiftly announced charges against both the motorcyclist and the woman herself—for “failing to observe mandatory hijab” and for the motorcyclist’s “driving on the sidewalk,” downplaying his harassment and refusing to highlight her suffering.
This response underscores the judiciary’s priorities: enforcing dress codes over addressing gender-based violence, signaling that women’s safety is secondary to their compliance.
By framing the victim of intimidation as a criminal, the Iranian justice system reveals its allegiance to repressive standards that disregard basic principles of safety and dignity. Such actions not only degrade women
but also reinforce a culture of impunity, where abusers—be they state officials or civilians—operate with confidence, knowing that the law is on their side.
The pattern is unmistakable: when the state’s agenda prioritizes control over compassion, women bear the brunt, and society is deprived of a basic measure of justice.
