Iran’s judiciary has placed what it calls the fight against nudity and improper hijab at the center of its enforcement agenda, warning that organizers and permit-issuing bodies for events deemed to violate law or Sharia will be prosecuted, judiciary-affiliated Mizan News said.
“Combating nudity and improper hijab is a special priority for the judiciary and judicial officers, and those who issue permits or organize events that violate the law and Sharia will be prosecuted,” Mizan said in a report on Sunday.
Mizan added that agencies authorized to issue permits for ceremonies, celebrations, or gatherings “must obtain serious commitments from applicants to observe social norms before issuing permits and maintain continuous on-site monitoring during events to ensure these commitments are upheld.”
Mizan said prosecutors should supervise how permit-issuing bodies enforce these requirements and act against any negligence.
The outlet cited earlier remarks by Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who has repeatedly warned that authorities view what they call social “abnormalities” as part of an organized effort.
Ejei has said he instructed prosecutors “to ask security and law enforcement agencies to identify organized and foreign-linked groups involved in social abnormalities and refer them to the judiciary.”
Ejei has argued that the promotion of improper hijab and related behavior is one of the “enemy’s” tools to undermine religious and social values, telling officials in recent speeches that security, intelligence, and judicial bodies must act against groups the state considers coordinated or foreign-influenced.
He has also said event organizers, venue operators, and permit-issuing bodies share legal responsibility for any violation that occurs at their gatherings and will be prosecuted as accomplices if they fail to prevent acts deemed contrary to law or Sharia.
He urged prosecutors to demand strict oversight from judicial officers across public venues such as restaurants, cafés, and entertainment spaces.
Mizan's report comes as authorities in Iran are increasingly targeting businesses rather than individuals who refuse to observe the theocracy’s strict social laws around veiling and gender mixing.
Last month, authorities in Tehran shut down two cafe-restaurants over alleged violations including “serving alcohol, nudity, and mixed-gender dancing.”
Since August, at least 20 cafes, garden restaurants, and wedding halls have been closed in Tehran, Dezful, Hamedan, Kashan and Maragh in Isfahan province over alleged hijab violations, according to a report by reformist daily Ham Mihan.
