Iran International
Critics of Iran's new hijab law say President Masoud Pezeshkian should not only refuse to take responsibility for its implementation but also try to find a way to shelve or abolish it.
The law mandates extensive surveillance of public spaces to identify women who fail to comply with full hijab regulations, imposing hefty fines and even prison sentences on violators.
The new law also demands businesses including hospitality establishments, retail shops, and taxi services refuse service to unveiled women or report them to the authorities to avoid being penalized themselves.
"The main goal of those insisting on the implementation of the hijab law, in my view, is to bring down Pezeshkian’s government," prominent reformist politician and journalist Abbas Abdi wrote on Wednesday.
Many others, from reformist politician and former vice-president Masoumeh Ebtekar to conservative Qom Seminary teacher Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohsen Gharavian have objected to the provisions of the hijab law ultra-hardliners insist must be implemented.
The government must reject and protest to the hijab law, Gharavian who argues that the punishments stipulated in the law, such as withdrawing the fine for unveiling from people’s bank accounts without their consent, is unacceptable even from the religious point of view, Gharavian said in an interview with Khabar Online news website Tuesday.
According to Pezeshkian’s special aide in matters of social freedoms and rights, Sakineh-Sadat Paad, the President is planning to consult with Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf in a meeting of the heads of the three government forces to find a solution for the problem.
The rush to implement a law that is questionable to Muslim religious jurists, legal experts, sociologists, and others is not rational, she argued in an X post a day before Pezeshkian’s televised interview Monday. “A good law must be acceptable to the society,” she added.
Since the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, a significant number of Iranian women have refused to wear the hijab, often facing confrontations with morality police in the streets. Beyond the oppressive nature of the new law, individuals close to the Islamic government worry that violent enforcement of hijab regulations could ignite social unrest.
As president, Pezeshkian is required to give the new law official status by signing it and communicating it to all government bodies for implementation. In a televised interview Monday, he insisted that it would be hard to implement and warned that its enforcement would lead to widespread discontent in Iranian society.
Pezeshkian also said he was conferring with other top officials to find a way not to enforce the hijab law.
Critics of the new law within Iran's political establishment, spanning from reformists to numerous conservatives, have called on President Pezeshkian to appeal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to use his extraordinary powers to issue a decisive ruling and resolve the impasse.
Critics suggest that Pezeshkian could attempt to persuade Khamenei that enforcing the new law runs counter to public and national interests, urging him to either order its suspension or refer the matter to a state body for further deliberation.
Pezeshkian can request through a letter to the Supreme Leader to ask him to have the law removed from the country’s agenda because it is against the fundamental rights of the nation, public interests and national interests, the reformist Sazandegi newspaper wrote Monday.
Khamenei, who has consistently maintained that everyone must adhere to hijab laws regardless of their personal beliefs because "it is the law," has so far refrained from commenting on the new legislation.
Another option critics, including prominent lawyer and member of the central council of the reformist Servants of Construction Party, Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaei, have proposed is for Pezeshkian to bring the issue before the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). They contend that the Council holds the authority to suspend the law’s implementation if it determines the matter impacts national
As president, Pezeshkian heads the SNSC. Nevertheless, nearly all the other members including the chiefs of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Police, and Joint Staff of the Armed forces are directly appointed by Khamenei and answer only to him, not the president.
Article 176 of the Iranian Constitution also stipulates that all the decisions taken by the Council must be endorsed by the Supreme Leader to become effective.
A third solution proposed by others, including a group of legal experts who penned an open letter to Pezeshkian, is to call for a national referendum on the issue. Alternatively, the legal experts suggest referring the matter to the Expediency Council, which, under Article 112 of the Constitution, can deliberate on any issue assigned to it by the Supreme Leader.
The proposal to hold a referendum, however, requires the approval of two-thirds of all members of Parliament which s dominated by hardliners and ultra-hardliners. The hijab law was approved in the previous term of the parliament in October 2023. However, ultra-hardliners have a stronger foothold in the new Parliament which started work in late May.
Their accounts align with new data showing that Iran has reached its highest-ever divorce-to-marriage ratio.
Iran’s Open Data Center, which provides public access to government-generated data, reports that from March 20, 2023, to March 20, 2024, there were 2.4 marriages for every divorce recorded.
While there were just 481,000 marriages in that timeframe, reportedly the lowest in 27 years – divorces soared up to 202,000, marking the third-highest divorce count on record.
In the 1980s, the national divorce-to-marriage ratio was under 9 per 100 marriages. Since then, it has quadrupled, now approaching 40 divorces for every 100 marriages.
In light of the Iranian government’s crackdowns on individuals speaking to foreign media, some names have been abbreviated or last names omitted.
Professor K., a sociologist, told Iran International how financial instability has driven unprecedented pressure on marriages in Iran.
“When couples can’t afford rent or constantly fear eviction, the sense of security needed to nurture a relationship vanishes,” he said. “Young families feel trapped between rising inflation and unemployment. It’s tearing them apart.”
Trapped in Tehran's rising cost of living
The challenges faced by young couples are evident in the nation’s capital, where Narges and Ali say they once dreamed of buying a small apartment after their wedding.
Today the 29-year-olds have been married for three years and say they have noticed that with each year, rising prices push that dream further out of reach.
Ali told Iran International that they kept hoping the next year would bring some relief to their household finances.
"But after a while, it felt like living in limbo," he said.
In March, a report from state-controlled media indicated that nearly one in three Iranians is living below the poverty line, largely due to the high inflation experienced over the past five years.
At the same time, the government’s own statistics suggest that almost six out of every 10 Iranians are neither employed or seeking work – while more than half of those who are employed are often forced to hold down a side job to make ends meet.
Like many Iranian families, the financial challenges confronting Narges and Ali, have seeped into their personal lives.
“We were just existing,” Narges said. “He worked day and night, and so did I, but each time we saved a little, the rent would go up again. One day, I looked at him, and we both knew—we were just surviving. There was nothing left between us.”
While marriage is in decline, the country is simultaneously facing the threat of a fast-declining population growth rate.
Some studies suggest that by the year 2051, around 26 million of the country's population, or one-quarter of the population, will be elderly.
Despite several massive budget allocations to a regeneration scheme, fewer babies are born each year.
Iran’s government has set an ambitious target to raise the fertility rate to 2.5 by 2028, but critics say the state has not been able to boost the living standards, with more than 35% considered to be living under the absolute poverty line according to official statistics and many more living in increasing hardship despite having multiple jobs.
An examination of rental prices in the capital and the ongoing housing crisis highlights why many families have downsized, relocated to less desirable areas, or are living indefinitely with their parents, as is the case with Leila and her fiancé.
Like Narges and Ali, Leila and her partner say securing a place to live together remains a distant dream for them.
In Tehran, the monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in central districts has surged to over 250 million rials (approximately $400), whereas the average household income is around 150 million rials (about $220).
With a master’s degree in accounting, 27-year-old Leila told Iran International that her job prospects are limited, and her savings minimal.
“We’re both working, but after covering expenses, there’s hardly anything left to save,” she says.
Her mother, Farideh, shared, “When I was her age, I was already married, and we had our own place. Now the struggle is just to live, forget about a wedding or children.”
According to the latest data, Alborz province, located just north of Tehran, recorded a rate of 61 divorces for every 100 marriages. Other provinces in the region, including Mazandaran to the north, Tehran itself, Gilan to the northwest, Semnan to the east, and Markazi to the southwest, are also experiencing similar trends.
Economic strain delays marriage in traditional regions
In regions where traditional marriage norms remain strong, divorce rates are lower.
The latest statistics suggest that Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari recorded 30 divorces per 100 marriages and South Khorasan 27 – both closer to the national average.
Meanwhile, Sistan and Baluchestan recorded the lowest rate, with just 10 divorces per 100 marriages.
But, the economic strain in these regions appears to impact overall low marriage rates.
Despite its resource wealth, Sistan and Baluchestan face significant challenges, including underdevelopment and poverty. Reportedly the poorest province of Iran, it has a population of 4 million, which includes about 700,000 Afghan nationals.
Over the past years, the region has experienced many crises, including shortage of fuel, bread, and drinking water, as well as drought, widespread unemployment and increasing poverty.
Hossein, a shop owner in the provincial capital Zahedan, explained that poverty among the youth is fueling disillusionment.
“Young men used to marry in their early 20s. Now, they wait until they can support a family – but that day seems further and further away,” he told Iran International.
Mehri, a 32-year-old teacher and mother of two from Semnan, says she struggles daily with her family’s financial burdens.
Her husband, once an engineer, was laid off, and she says they are now forced to survive and live on her modest teaching salary.
“There’s no peace in our home anymore,” she told Iran International.
Sociologists, including Professor K., caution that the continued trend of low marriage rates could lead to broader social challenges, including increased isolation.
“Marriage has always been a cornerstone of stability in our culture,” said Professor K. “As more families fracture under economic pressures, we risk losing the community bonds that marriage has traditionally helped to strengthen.”
With economic pressures showing no signs of abating, experts say the disintegration of traditional marriage patterns over the last decades will lead to long-term challenges for Iran's social fabric.