Iranian Authorities Launch “Nour” Plan to Enforce Hijab Across the Country
by Zamaneh Media — 15April2024
In continuation of government plans to intensify pressures and harassment of women, the “Nour” plan to confront “women without hijab” was implemented across Iran on April 13. Simultaneously, Fars, a news agency close to the Revolutionary Guard, called for once again banning women from entering stadiums.
Threats against women who insist on their right to choose their attire are increasing. The Command of the Islamic Republic’s police announced that from today, April 13, the “Nour” plan is being implemented nationwide.
This plan has been enacted by the National Police Command with the “goal of preserving the sanctity of chastity and hijab and combating misconducts,” but the details of the plan, especially how the police will deal with women, remain unclear, similar to other plans aimed at intensifying the enforcement of hijab.
According to this plan, the Command of the Islamic Republic’s police “will seriously deal with any inappropriate acts and against the values of the society committed by a few non-conforming individuals, according to the law.”
Mehr news agency has written that “in this plan, the police are expected to focus on positive behaviors and avoid negative behaviors as much as possible.”
This new plan, which once again shows that the government has not backed down in its aggressive stance towards women, states that “if individuals, whether as pedestrians or vehicle passengers, refuse to obey police orders and are unwilling to wear hijab and comply with the law, the police will be forced to act according to the law.”
Last year, on this date, Ahmadreza Radan, the Chief Commander of the Islamic Republic’s police, had announced the implementation of the ‘Plan to Confront Improper Hijab.’ He had declared that this plan would be executed in the streets of Tehran using advanced technology and equipment, identifying non-compliant individuals who would be approached and warned for the first time.
Before this, the Command of Greater Tehran Police had issued a statement warning women that starting from April 13, the strictness regarding the hijab would be intensified, and the ‘Hijab and Chastity’ plan would be pursued more rigorously in all streets and public places.
In this statement, women were once again threatened that in case of non-compliance with mandatory hijab, “the police will legally deal with violators of the law on hijab and chastity based on their duties.”
Like other bodies and officials of the Islamic Republic, the police have called this action a ‘public demand’ to justify further suppression and restrictions as the will of the people.
The implementation of this plan comes just a few days after the stern speech by Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, regarding mandatory hijab.
On Wednesday, April 3, in a meeting with the heads of the judiciary and a group of regime officials, while referring to the issue of mandatory hijab, Ali Khamenei said:
“The imposed challenge of hijab must be considered from jurisprudential, legal, and peripheral aspects.”
The leader of the Islamic Republic said, “From a religious standpoint, hijab is a definite religious decree and is obligatory for women, except for covering the face and hands, and this cannot be disregarded; it must be observed.”
He also stated, “Hijab is a definitive legal ruling, and observing the law is obligatory for everyone, even for those who do not believe, they must comply with the law.”
In his speech, Khamenei linked the civil disobedience of women and their refusal to wear the compulsory hijab to ‘efforts by enemies,’ stating, “According to reliable reports we have received, some have been hired to break norms and violate the sanctity of the hijab.”
On Wednesday, April 10, the security news agency ‘Fars,’ affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, launched a campaign under the title ‘Request for the Return of the Morality Police to Society.’
The organizers of this campaign stated that “after the removal of the morality police, the situation of hijab and chastity has deteriorated,” and said, “According to the Islamic Penal Code, uncovering is a crime, and it is the duty of the police and indeed other people to deal with it.”
This news agency also claimed that “about six thousand people’ from the audience of Fars initiated this campaign on the ‘Fars Man’ platform.”
Previously, on Wednesday, March 6, in anticipation of International Women’s Day, Amnesty International released a statement announcing that the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran have launched a comprehensive campaign to enforce repressive laws of mandatory hijab through extensive monitoring of women and girls in public places and widespread police checkpoints targeting female drivers.
This statement, compiled with testimonies from 46 individuals including 41 women, one transgender woman, one girl, and four men during February of this year, along with an examination of official documents from the Islamic Republic including court rulings and prosecutorial orders, was written.
In the statement, Amnesty International identified the Morality Police, Traffic Police, prosecutors, courts, Ministry of Intelligence, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Basij, and plainclothes forces as “enforcers of the degrading laws of mandatory hijab” in Iran.
Following the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement, the Islamic Republic has adopted various plans and policies to suppress the right to optional clothing, and despite increased pressures against women, at least in Iran’s major cities, women continue to resist mandatory hijab and appear in public without it.
Re-ban on entry to stadiums?
On April 13, in response to events that occurred during the match between Esteghlal and Aluminium Arak, the Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that the Esteghlal goalkeeper hugging a female fan who came onto the field will lead to new restrictions for women in stadiums.
The incident involving the female Esteghlal fan occurred during the game on Friday, April 12 between Esteghlal and Aluminium Arak. Hossein Hosseini, the goalkeeper and captain of Esteghlal, hugged her and also gave her his jersey. Subsequently, law enforcement officers charged towards the goalkeeper and the female fan to separate them, an intervention that ultimately led to a brief tension between the Esteghlal team staff and the police.
Fars News Agency drew a line for women in its report on this event:
“This incident unintentionally creates new restrictions for female football fans wishing to attend stadiums, because due to an uncultured atmosphere, many interested women are unwilling to attend stadiums, and gradually, the environment of the stadium becomes limited to a playground for people with certain conditions.”
After threatening women with preventing their attendance at stadiums for watching sports matches, the news agency said, “A more significant point during yesterday’s game was the weakening of the police in preventing the female, unveiled Jimmy Jump. The Esteghlal goalkeeper, by hugging this individual, along with some of his companions in support of her, started attacking the police; an impulsive act that was likened on social media to youths popping wheelies in front of girls’ schools.”
