Iran: Crackdown on pro-hijab protesters sign of strategic pivot?

Iranian authorities have dispersed a weeks-long protest by demonstrators supporting mandatory hijab, after declaring the gathering illegal. The protest outside the parliament in Tehran was led by a small group, mostly women clad in black chadors, who kept on for nearly 50 days.

The unprecedented crackdown on March 28 has exposed deep fissures within the Islamic Republic’s political and social fabric and also within the ruling conservative establishment. Usually, such strict action is reserved for protesters rallying for liberal causes, but it seems the administration is sending a stern message that no protests against the regime will be tolerated, notwithstanding the cause. The incident shows that Iran is witnessing a broader struggle over theocratic control even as it grapples with economic hardship and international pressure on account of multiple issues.

The pro-hijab protests have been brewing for a while as a group was camping outside the parliament since early February. They were critical of what they perceived as the government’s failure to uphold “Islamic values” by strictly enforcing the hijab law, passed by the conservative-dominated parliament in September 2023. It sought to impose severe penalties, including hefty fines and prison terms, on women defying the dress code and businesses failing to enforce it. Yet, the implementation has been stalled, a decision attributed to the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), reportedly with the tacit approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The pro-hijab demonstration, backed by ultraconservative factions like the Paydari Front, emerged amid growing frustration with this delay. For these “super-revolutionaries,” as some media dub them, the hijab is not merely a dress code but a cornerstone of Iran’s post-1979 revolutionary identity. Their vigilante stance echoes Khamenei’s April 2023 declaration that flouting the hijab law was both “religiously and politically haram (forbidden),” a speech in which he blamed foreign powers for encouraging defiance. However, Khamenei’s recent silence on the issue—most notably during his December 2024 address to an all-female audience—has fuelled speculation of a strategic pivot, possibly towards a softer approach amid mounting domestic and international challenges.

The crackdown, in fact, unfolded against the backdrop of heightened tension in the region. On Friday, there were massive state-organised Quds Day rallies in Tehran, expressing solidarity with Palestine. Once the rallies were over, hundreds of police officers, both male and female, moved in to disperse the hijab protesters, who had resisted repeated requests to leave. Tehran’s deputy governor, Hossein Khosh-Eghbal, justified the action, branding the gathering “illegal” and warning that unauthorised rallies would face similar consequences.

The judiciary’s mouthpiece Mizan Online reported that while most complied with dispersal orders, a stubborn minority prompted police intervention. Religious vigilante groups, however, allege excessive force, which the police dismissed as fabricated.

This episode has come at a critical juncture for Iran. Since the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in custody—arrested for allegedly breaching hijab rules—public defiance of the dress code has surged, particularly among younger women. The ensuing protests, which claimed hundreds of lives, shook the regime, prompting a brief suspension of the morality police before their swift return.

Under the late president Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline hijab bill gained traction, only to be shelved in March 2025 under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who argued for “education” over punishment. The suspension of the law, backed by speaker of the parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, reflects fears of reigniting unrest amid economic woes exacerbated by US sanctions.

The vigilantes have zeroed in on Ghalibaf, whom they blame for the delay and the crackdown. Hours before police moved in, protesters chanted against him during his Friday prayers speech in Tehran. Hardline legislator Hamid Rasaei called the dispersal a result of “foolishness or infiltration”, while the Paydari Front’s Mahmoud Nabavian conceded that preserving the Islamic Republic might outweigh enforcing the law given Iran’s crises.

The discord within conservative ranks hints at a fracturing consensus, even among the regime’s staunchest defenders. And the government’s response blends repression with caution: it deploys cameras to spot unveiled women and encourages public snitching, yet hesitates to fully unleash the new law’s punitive might. The crackdown on the Tehran protesters may also signal a warning to ultra-hardliners that defiance of Khamenei’s apparent shift—possibly towards engaging the Trump administration—will not be tolerated.