Iran passes controversial ‘chastity’ law imposing even harsher dress restrictions. The president doesn’t like it

Iran’s parliament has enacted a harsh new modesty law, significantly tightening existing dress restrictions that have already fueled nationwide protests and posed a serious challenge to regime stability.

Iran’s parliament has enacted a harsh new modesty law, significantly tightening existing dress restrictions that have already fueled nationwide protests and posed a serious challenge to regime stability. Two years after protests against Iran’s strict dress codes rocked the nation, a new “chastity and hijab” law was passed on Sunday by the hardline parliament and approved by the Guardian Council, which vets laws for compliance with the constitution and Islamic law. It must now be signed by the president to come into force. President Masoud Pezeshkian, a critic of the country’s dress code rules who was elected last year on a reformist platform, has voiced opposition to the bill, setting up a potential showdown with powerful conservatives if he tries to stand in its way. His signing of legislation is largely ceremonial, leaving little room for him to block the bill, something he acknowledged in a post on X on Monday. “In my opinion the hijab law, which I have to implement, is vague. We should not do anything to disturb the harmony and empathy of society. We have to talk and interact about the issue,” he wrote. The legislation would begin a three-year trial of a set of policies that would impose new, harsher penalties for hijab violations and improper dress by both men and women. It defines improper dress in various ways, ranging from nudity and dressing immodestly to wearing the hijab incorrectly.