Iranian authorities are revising the law on the mandatory wearing of the hijab for women. This was stated by Iranian Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.
This decision is a consequence of the two-month-long protests taking place in the country related to the women's dress code. According to Montazeri, Iran's parliament and judiciary are already working on this issue. It is noteworthy that they are under the almost complete control of the conservatives. Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi has previously stated that the republican and Islamic foundations of the country are enshrined in the Constitution, but there are "flexible" ways to implement them.
The hijab became a mandatory element of the dress code for Iranian women in April 1983, four years after the Islamic Revolution. On September 16, 2022, protests began in the country related to the murder by the vice police of 22-year-old activist Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating the law on wearing the hijab. As a result, many Iranians also stopped wearing it. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said 14,000 people, including children, were arrested during the protests.
Iran acknowledged that about 200 people died during the protests and turned to Russia for help in putting down the popular uprising. He asked for equipment to deal with the protests, as well as to send advisers for training. The data of the Iranian authorities differ from the information of human rights activists: according to the latter, about 460 people died during the protests.