After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, it became compulsory for women to cover their hair in Iran with a scarf that covered the hair and neck, but not the face. [1] Hijab was seen as a symbol of piety, dignity, and identity for Muslim women. [2]
The Safavid dynasty centralized Iran and declared Shia Islam as the official religion, which led to the widespread adoption of hijab by women in the country. Shia Islam served as a tool for the Safavids to consolidate the diverse ethnic groups under their authority and to differentiate themselves from their Sunni Muslim adversaries. [3] Women continued to wear hijab as a prevalent fashion trend during the Qajar era, but they also became more acquainted with and inspired by European fashions and materials. The two Pahlavi eras (1925-1979) were marked by significant changes in the hijab and women's dress in Iran, reflecting the influence of Westernization, modernization, and political movements. The first Pahlavi era, under Reza Shah (1925-1941), was characterized by the forced unveiling of women, known as Kashf-e hijab, as part of the regime's attempt to secularize and modernize the country. Women who resisted the ban on hijab faced harassment, violence, and imprisonment. [4] The second Pahlavi era, under Mohammad Reza Shah (1941-1979), was more tolerant of women’s choice of clothing, but also encouraged Western styles and fabrics, especially among the urban elite. Women wore a variety of dresses, skirts, pants, suits, and coats, often made of silk, velvet, or brocade. They also wore hijab in different forms, such as scarves, hats, or veils, depending on their personal, religious, or political preferences. [5]
Following the 1979 revolution, hijab became a compulsory dress code for women by the new regime. Since then, women have been required to wear the hijab, or face harassment and legal consequences. This has sparked many movements and protests by activists who challenge the mandatory hijab and seek more freedom and rights for women. However, they have also encountered harassment and oppression by the authorities and conservative groups. This compulsion caused several social movements and protests across the country to fight back, some examples of the movements is white Tuesday or women, life, freedom movement.
Muslims conquered Iran in the time of Umar (637 CE) and Iranians were reportedly among the very earliest converts to Islam and adopted Muslim customs such as hijab. During the Middle Ages, Turkic nomadic tribes from Central Asia arrived, whose women did not wear headscarves. [6] [7]
After the Safavid (from 1501 to 1736) centralization in the 16th century, the headscarf became defined as the standard headdress for many religious women in urban areas all around the Iranian Empire. [8] Exceptions to this were seen only in the villages and among nomadic tribes, [6] [7] [9] [10] [11] such as Qashqai. Covering the whole face was rare among the Iranians and was mostly restricted to local Arabs and local Afghans.
However, hijab was not uniform and monolithic in Safavid Iran. Women from different ethnic and religious groups wore different styles and colors of veils and headscarves, reflecting their regional and cultural identities. [12] Some women also wore hats, turbans, and bonnets, influenced by European fashion.
The Safavid court was also a place of diversity and splendor in terms of clothing. The royal women wore elaborate and luxurious garments, made of silk, velvet, brocade, and fur, embroidered with gold and silver, and adorned with jewels and pearls. They also wore different types of head coverings, such as mandils (turban material), qalānsūwas (conical caps), and tāj (crowns). [13]
During Qajar dynasty the hijab was a prevalent fashion choice for women in Iran, as it reflected the cultural, religious, and political identity of the Qajar empire. The hijab was enforced by the Islamic dress code for women, which was introduced by the Safavid dynasty and continued by the Qajars. [14] The hijab was often made of colorful and patterned fabrics, and sometimes adorned with pearls, feathers, or flowers, however, In the later Qajar period, women’s clothing became more elaborate and diverse, reflecting the influence of European styles and fabrics. Women wore long dresses with tight waists and wide skirts, often made of silk, velvet, or brocade. They also wore jackets, vests, and shawls over their dresses, and decorated their outfits with embroidery, lace, ribbons, and jewels. [15] [16]
The Qajar dynasty faced many internal and external challenges and pressures, such as the constitutional revolution, the tobacco protest, and the Anglo-Russian agreement. These events affected the lives and roles of women in Iran, who participated in various social and political movements, such as the women’s awakening, the women’s association, and the women’s parliament. Some women also advocated for women’s rights and education, such as Bibi Khanum Astarabadi, Tuba Azmudeh, and Sediqeh Dowlatabadi. [13] during the economic crisis in the late 19th century under the Qajar dynasty, the poorest religious urban women [17] could not afford headscarves, [9] [18] therefore Women were protected, secluded in the home or had to wear chador. [17]
In the 1920s, a few individual Iranian women started to appear unveiled, despite the cultural pressure to veil. In 1924, the singer Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri broke gender segregation and seclusion by performing unveiled in the gender-mixed company at the Grand Hotel in Tehran, and the Royal Palace Theater. [19] Reza Shah, a military officer who supported "Westernized women active outside the home" and opposed the influence of religious clerics, came to power in December 1925. [20] Iranian women's rights activists supported the unveiling, and the feminist Sediqeh Dowlatabadi is believed to have been the first woman in Iran to have appeared in public without the veil in 1928. [21] [22] To appear without a veil or even favor it in public debate was very controversial, and women's rights activists who spoke in favor of unveiling sometimes had to be protected by the police. [23] In 1926, the Shah specifically provided police protection for individual women who appeared unveiled but with a scarf or a hat to cover the hair. [24]
In 1928, the Queen of Afghanistan, Soraya Tarzi, appeared unveiled publicly with the Shah during her official visit to Iran. The clergy protested and asked the Shah to tell the foreign queen to cover up, but he refused. His refusal caused rumors that the Shah planned to abolish the veil in Iran. In 1928, Shah's wife, queen (Tadj ol-Molouk) attended the Fatima Masumeh Shrine during her pilgrimage in Qom wearing a veil that did not cover her completely, as well as showing her face, for which a cleric harshly criticized her. [25] As a response, Reza Shah publicly beat the cleric who had criticised the queen the next day. [25]
As a method of the modernization of the country, and following the example of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey, the shah encouraged women's participation in society. [26] The veiling of women which would have huge symbolic importance in towards this and women's emancipation in general, but the shah introduced the reform gradually so as not to cause unrest. [26]
Female teachers were encouraged to unveil in 1933, and schoolgirls and women students in 1935. [26] The reform not only allowed female teachers and students not to veil, but allowed female students to study alongside men. All these reforms were opposed and criticized by the Shia clergy. [25]
In 1935, the women's committee Kanun-e Banuvan (Ladies Society) was formed with the support of the government. [27] The committee's women's rights activists campaigned for unveiling. [26]
On 8 January 1936, [28] Reza Shah issued a decree, Kashf-e hijab, banning all veils. [29] The official declaration of unveiling were made on 8 January 1936, and the queen and her daughters were given an important role in this event. [26] That day, Reza Shah attended the graduation ceremony of the Tehran Teacher's College with the queen and their two daughters unveiled and dressed in modern clothes. [26] The queen handed out diplomas while the shah spoke about how in the past half of Iran's population had been disregarded, and told the women graduates that the future was now in their hands. [26] This was the first time an Iranian queen had shown herself in public. Afterwards, the Shah published pictures of his unveiled wife and daughters, and the unveiling was enforced throughout Iran. [26] To enforce this decree, the police were ordered to physically remove the veil from any women who wore it publicly. [30] As a result, many pious traditionalist women chose not leave their houses to avoid confrontations, [31] [10] and a few conservative women even committed suicide to avoid removing their hijabs due to the decree. [31]
The ban was left in place for five years, until Reza Shah was deposed 1941. The Iranian women's movement had generally favored unveiling, [32] and many of Iran's leading feminists and women's rights activists organized in the Kanun-e Banuvan to campaign in favor of the Kashf-e hijab, among them Hajar Tarbiat, Khadijeh Afzal Vaziri and Sediqeh Dowlatabadi, Farrokhroo Parsa and Parvin E'tesami. [33]
Religious conservatives reacted with outrage to the reform. According to Iran's current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the policy was aimed at "eradicating the tremendous power of faith" in Muslim societies that was enabled by what he termed the "decency of women", as hijab (in his view) protected Muslim women from the "malicious abuse" suffered by women in the West, and the people from preoccupation with sexual desire. [34]
Kashf-e hijab was relaxed in 1941 under Reza Shah's successor (and son), Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; the wearing of a headscarf or chador was no longer an offense and women were able to dress as they wished, [35] but hijab was still considered an indicator of backwardness or of membership of the lower class. Wearing of the chador became a significant hindrance to climbing the social ladder. [36] Veiled women were assumed to be from conservative religious families with limited education, while unveiled women were assumed to be from the educated and professional upper or middle class. [35] Professional middle-class women such as teachers and nurses appeared unveiled in their work place, but sometimes veiled when they returned home to their families. [26]
Discrimination against women wearing the headscarf or chador occurred, with some public institutions discouraging their use, and some eating establishments refusing to admit women who wore them. [30] [37]
In the 1970s, the chador was usually a patterned or of a lighter color such as white or beige; black chadors were typically reserved for mourning and only became more acceptable everyday wear starting in the mid-1970s—however in the period before the Iranian Revolution the black chador's usage outside of the city of Qom was associated with allegiance with political Islam and was stigmatized by areas of Iranian society.
During this era, traditionalists such as the Devotees of Islam (Fedāʾīān-e Eslām) demanded mandatory veiling and a ban on unveiled women, but their efforts failed. [33]
Leading up to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the wearing of hijab by educated middle-class women began to become a political symbol—an indication of opposition to the Pahlavi modernization policy and thus of Pahlavi rule. [36] Many middle-class working women starting to use it as such. [36]
Not only simple hijab but the traditional Shi'i chador became popular among the middle class opposition, as a symbol of revolutionary advocacy for the poor, as protest of the treatment of women as sex objects, to show solidarity with the conservative women who always wore them, and as a nationalist rejection of foreign influence.
Hijab was considered by conservative traditionalists as a sign of virtue, and thus unveiled women as the opposite. Rather than a sign of backwardness, unveiled women came to be seen as a symbol of Western cultural colonialism; Westoxication" (Gharbzadegi) or infatuation with western culture, education, art, consumer products etc., "a super-consumer" of products of Imperialism, a propagator of "corrupt Western culture", undermining the traditionalist conception of "morals of society", and as overly dressed up "bourgeois dolls", who had lost their honor. [38] : 144
Feminist hijab advocates pointed out that traditionally women not only wore hijab but did not mix with men, but in the anti-shah demonstrations thousands of veiled women participated in religious processions alongside men, which showed hijab empowered women protecting women from sexual harassment (because conservative men regarded them as more respectable) and enabling access to public spheres. [39]
After the Islamic Revolution and founding of the Islamic Republic, the Kashf-e hijab was reversed. Instead of prohibiting veils, the law now required them, [38] a process that worked in stages. [29] In spring of 1979 (shortly after the overthrow), leader of the revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini announced that women should observe Islamic dress code. [40] He was supported in his by the conservative/traditionalists fraction of the revolutionaries who were hostile to unveiled women, as expressed in two slogans used during this time: "Wear a veil, or we will punch your head" and "Death to the unveiled". [40]
Non-conservative/traditionalist women, who had worn the veil as a symbol of opposition during the revolution, had not expected veiling to become mandatory. Almost immediately after, starting from 8 March 1979 (International Women's Day), thousands of liberal and leftist women began protesting against mandatory Hijab. [38] [35] The protests lasted six days, until 14 March. The protests resulted in the (temporary) retraction of mandatory veiling, [38] and government assurances that Khomeini's statement was only a recommendation. [29] [41]
Khomeini, denied that any non-hijab wearing women were part of the revolution, telling Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci in February 1979:
"the women who contributed to the revolution were and are women who wear modest clothes. ... these coquettish women, who wear makeup and put their necks, hair and bodies on display in the streets, did not fight the Shah. They have done nothing righteous. They do not know how to be useful, neither to society, nor politically or vocationally. And the reason is because they distract and anger people by exposing themselves." [40]
As the consolidation of power by Khomeini and his core supporters continued, left and liberal organizations, parties, figures, were suppressed and eliminated, and mandatory veiling for all women returned. [38] This began with the 'Islamification of offices' in July 1980, when unveiled women were refused entry to government offices and public buildings, and banned from appearing unveiled at their work places under the risk of being fired. [42] On the streets, unveiled women were attacked by revolutionaries. [40]
In modern usage, hijab generally refers to various head coverings conventionally worn by many Muslim women. It is similar to the tichel or snood worn by Orthodox Jewish women, certain headcoverings worn by some Christian women, such as the mantilla, apostolnik and wimple, and the dupatta worn by many Hindu and Sikh women. Whilst a hijab can come in many forms, it often specifically refers to a scarf wrapped around the head, covering the hair, neck and ears but leaving the face visible. The use of the hijab has been on the rise worldwide since the 1970s and is viewed by many Muslims as expressing modesty and faith; it has also been worn for purposes of adornment. There is a consensus among Islamic religious scholars that covering the head is either required or preferred, though some Muslim scholars and activists point out that it is not mandated.
Reza Shah Pahlavi was an Iranian military officer and the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. As a politician, he previously served as minister of war and prime minister of Qajar Iran and subsequently reigned as Shah of Pahlavi Iran from 1925 until he was forced to abdicate after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Mohammad Reza Shah. A modernizer, Reza Shah clashed with the Shia clergy, but also introduced many social, economic, and political reforms during his reign, ultimately laying the foundation of the modern Iranian State. Therefore, he is regarded by many as the founder of modern Iran.
The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution, was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution also led to the replacement of the Imperial State of Iran by the present-day Islamic Republic of Iran, as the monarchical government of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was superseded by the theocratic government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a religious cleric who had headed one of the rebel factions. The ousting of Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, formally marked the end of Iran's historical monarchy.
A chādor, also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as, is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Pakistan, and to a lesser extent Tajikistan, as well as in Shia communities in Iraq, Bahrain, and Qatif in Saudi Arabia in public spaces or outdoors.
Tâdj ol-Molouk was Queen of Iran as the second wife of Reza Shah, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty and Shah of Iran between 1925 and 1941. The title she was given after becoming queen means "Crown of the Kings" in the Persian language. She was the first queen in Iran after the Muslim conquest in the seventh century to have participated in public royal representation, and she played a major role in the kashf-e hijab in 1936.
Throughout history, women in Iran have played numerous roles, and contributed in many ways, to Iranian society. Historically, tradition maintained that women be confined to their homes to manage the household and raise children. During the Pahlavi era, there was a drastic social change towards women's desegregation such as ban of the veil, right to vote, right to education, equal salaries for men and women, and the right to hold public office. Women were active participants in the Islamic Revolution. Iran's constitution, adopted after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, proclaims equality for men and women under Article 20, while mandating legal code adhering to Sharia law. Article 21 of the constitution as well as a few parliament-passed laws give women rights such as being allowed to drive, hold public office, and attend university but not wearing a veil in public can be punished by law; and when in public, all hair and skin except the face and hands must be covered. However, this is often not enforced; notably in recent years, Iranian women have started a number of groups to rebel against the government's oppressive policies and reclaim their independence and rights.
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Sediqeh Dowlatabadi was an Iranian feminist activist and journalist and one of the pioneering figures in the Persian women's movement.
Traditional Persian clothing is the historical costume of the Persian people, and of ancient Persia before the 1930s Pahlavi dynasty. Historically, the fabric and color of clothing was very important. During the Achaemenian period, Persian clothing started to reflect social status and eminence, the climate of the region, and the season. The design philosophy for ancient clothing was a marriage of both function and aesthetics.
Secularism in Iran was established as state policy shortly after Rezā Shāh was crowned Shah in 1925. He made any public display or expression of religious faith, including the wearing of the headscarf (hijab) and chador by women and wearing of facial hair by men illegal. Public religious festivals and celebrations were banned, Shia clergy were forbidden to preach in extremist ideas.
Various styles of head coverings, most notably the khimar, hijab, chador, niqab, paranja, yashmak, tudong, shayla, safseri, carşaf, haik, dupatta, boshiya and burqa, are worn by Muslim women around the world, where the practice varies from mandatory to optional or restricted in different majority Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
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The Goharshad Mosque rebellion took place in August 1935, when a backlash against the westernizing and secularist policies of Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty erupted in the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, Iran.
On 8 January 1936, Reza Shah of Iran (Persia) issued a decree known as Kashf-e hijab banning all Islamic veils, an edict that was swiftly and forcefully implemented. The government also banned many types of male traditional clothing.
Fashion in Iran has a cultural and economic impact on the county of Iran. During the Pahlavi era around the mid-1930s, Western fashion was introduced to Persia and greatly influenced women's style. After the Iranian Revolution in 1978–1979, the hijab has become compulsory, which impacted the creation of clothing style.
Khadijeh Afzal Vaziri was a women's rights activist, journalist and educator from Iran. She campaigned against the enforced wearing of the chador and supported the Kashf-e hijab.
On International Women's Day on March 8, 1979, a women's march took place in Tehran in Iran. The march was originally intended to celebrate the International Women's Day, but transformed into massive protests against the changes taking place in women's rights during the Iranian revolution, specifically the introduction of mandatory hijab (veiling), which had been announced the day before. The protests lasted for six days, from 8 March to 14 March 1979, with thousands of women participating. The protests were met with violence and intimidation by pro-Khomeini Islamist forces.
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Hijab in Iran, the traditional head covering worn by Muslim women for modesty for centuries, have been practiced as a compulsion supported by law in Iran after the 1979 revolution. In the 1920s, a few women started to appear unveiled. Under Reza Shah, it was discouraged and then banned in 1936 for five years. Under Reza Shah's successor, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, hijab was considered "backward" and rarely worn by upper and middle-class people. Consequently, it became a symbol of opposition to the shah in 1970s, and was worn by women who previously would have been unveiled.