Concurrent with Iran’s unprecedented direct assault on Israel, the government initiated a separate confrontation within its borders. Police were deployed in numerous cities to enforce adherence to the strict Islamic dress code. Iranian authorities maintain that the ‘Nour’ (Light) campaign is directed towards businesses and individuals defying the hijab law, in response to demands from pious citizens concerned about the increasing number of violators.
However, activists and some politicians contend that the campaign extends beyond enforcing mandatory hijab-wearing and aims to deter any broader dissent at a critical juncture for the clerical establishment. Under Iran’s Sharia law, women are obligated to conceal their hair and wear loose-fitting, long garments. Violators risk public reprimand, fines, or imprisonment. The regulations have become a source of political tension since demonstrations ignited by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman in the custody of the morality police, transformed into the country’s most severe political unrest since the 1979 revolution.
In a display of civil disobedience, women have frequently appeared in public without headscarves since Amini’s death. Security forces responded with violence, brutally suppressing the subsequent protests that demanded the government’s resignation. On April 13, as Iran’s drone and missile strikes on Israel unfolded, Tehran’s Police Chief Abbasali Mohammadian announced the new campaign on state television. He declared that police in Tehran and other cities would implement measures against violators of the hijab law. Hundreds of officers subsequently took to the streets of the capital and elsewhere.
Social media users shared images of a heavy morality police presence in Tehran and videos depicting police forcefully apprehending women deemed to be improperly dressed. These included accounts of plainclothes security forces dragging young women into police vans. Morality police vehicles had largely disappeared from the streets since last year.
The campaign swiftly provoked public unease. Concerned about a widening gulf between the government and society, some politicians have voiced criticism of the intensified crackdown. Reformist politician Azar Mansouri questioned the timing of the move, emphasizing the need for national solidarity during a period of conflict. Former Labor Minister Ali Rabeie expressed his bewilderment at the decision to instigate confrontation with the establishment, particularly amidst the nation’s pride in confronting Israel.
Some speculate that political motives underlie the campaign. A human rights activist in Tehran suggested that the government aims to instill fear within the population, thereby preventing anti-war protests and quelling domestic dissent during the conflict with Israel. They highlighted the coincidence of the crackdown with the day of the Israeli attack.
The prospect of war with Israel, following a series of tit-for-tat retaliations between the adversaries, has alarmed many ordinary Iranians already facing a myriad of challenges. These include economic hardship and increasingly stringent social and political controls. A former moderate government official suggested that the clerical rulers have adopted a more hardline stance against calls for political and social reforms, fearing that such views could gain traction amid external pressure on Iran.
An Iranian politician, a former lawmaker, asserted that the crackdown extends beyond dress code violations. Recent days have witnessed a clear suppression of any form of dissent, including the arrests of journalists, lawyers, activists, and students. Opposition news websites report that the primary charge against those detained is ‘inciting public opinion.’ On April 14, the intelligence unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a warning against pro-Israeli posts on social media.
