Iran pauses new, stricter hijab law for women, says ‘not feasible at the moment’

The penalties proposed in the bill had previously been rejected by Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's pro-reformist President.

A new, stricter law on women's hijab will not be sent to Iran's government this week, a vice president of the Islamic Republic said on Tuesday, making an announcement which effectively means that the implementation of the law has been halted, at least temporarily.

A file photo of Iranian women (Representational Image)

“It was decided that this law will not be referred to the government for now. The decision was reached by top executive, legislative and judiciary bodies,” Associated Press quoted Shahram Dabiri, the vice president in charge of parliamentary affairs, as saying.

“At the moment, it is not feasible to implement this bill,” Dabiri added.

The halting of the passage of the bill also comes as a temporary relief for Iran's pro-reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has previously described the legislation as having “many questions and ambiguities.”

Iran's law requires the President to endorse a bill within five days, after which it takes effect in 15 days. The President holds no veto power.

What does the bill propose?

Iran's Parliament approved the bill in September 2023. It levies such harsh punishments that Pezeshkian himself had rejected the proposed penalties.

The law envisages fines of $800 for first offenses, $1,500 for second offenses, and prison terms of up to 15 years for third offenses. Celebrities and public figures could have 8% of their net worth confiscated, while businesses face closure and fines for serving women not wearing a headscarf.

Under the law, foreign nationals would have been allowed to work as “informers” for reporting women not wearing the hijab. Business owners and taxi drivers not reporting uncovered women were to face monetary fines.