Overview
- In recent weeks hardline clerics and state media have stepped up pressure for stricter enforcement, and prosecutors have ordered closures of cafes, restaurants and shops accused of violating dress norms.
- Human rights group HRANA reported that at least seven Tehran cafes were shut on July 19 for failing to enforce hijab rules, and the South Khorasan chief prosecutor told state media that 10 cafes there were also closed.
- The Tehran Prosecutor’s Office has publicly warned it will take serious action against alleged 'indecency' at businesses and against shops selling clothing deemed 'unconventional.'
- Courts continue to hand down notable punishments: in June singer Parastoo Ahmadi and members of her team were sentenced in Qom to lashes and travel bans for alleged dress-code violations.
- Despite the clampdown, visible acts of defiance persist on social media and in public spaces—women riding motorcycles and appearing unveiled in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan—and national leaders remain cautious about a wide street-level crackdown because of the war, economic strain and divisions inside the regime.