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Beyond geopolitical headlines, Iranian women face extensive legal and social restrictions, from compulsory hijab to state surveillance. This article uncovers their daily struggles, the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement, and their persistent fight for autonomy. Discover the hidden realities shaping their lives, often overlooked in global discussions.
The recent US-Israel conflict has once again placed Iran at the centre of global attention, with international discussions dominated by regional security, nuclear diplomacy and the country’s strategic role in the Middle East. Yet beneath these geopolitical debates lies another story that remains largely overlooked. The everyday realities of millions of Iranian women living under an extensive system of legal, political and social restrictions.
In June 2026, rights groups reported that Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi had been sentenced to 74 lashes, a two-year travel ban and a two-year prohibition on artistic activity after performing without a hijab during an online concert. Several members of her production team reportedly received similar punishments. Although the sentence had not been officially confirmed by Iran’s judiciary at the time of reporting, the case highlighted how artistic expression itself continues to collide with state authority.
United Nations investigators documented at least 618 arrests of women under the “Noor Plan” a nationwide hijab-enforcement campaign launched in 2024 while reports indicate that executions of women increased from 18 in 2021 to 65 in 2025. Together, these developments illustrate the persistence of a system in which the regulation of women’s lives remains deeply institutionalised.
The hijab has acquired different meanings in Iranian society since the 1979 revolution, evolving from an expression of personal faith into a marker of ideological identity and, under the Islamic Republic, a political symbol through which the state projects its vision of an Islamic society.
That changed fundamentally when compulsory veiling was incorporated into law in 1983 and enforced nationwide from 1984, transforming women’s dress from a matter of personal choice into a legal obligation and visible expression of state authority.
The 2024 Hijab and Chastity Law further strengthened this framework. Women accused of “promoting nudity, indecency, unveiling or improper dressing” may face fines of up to £12,500, prison sentences ranging from five to fifteen years for repeat offences and corporal punishment, including flogging. Yet compulsory hijab is only the most visible expression of a much broader system of gender regulation. Beyond dress codes, Iranian law disadvantages women through unequal inheritance, guardianship and citizenship provisions, while abortion remains highly restricted.
International attention intensified after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa (Jina) Amini in September 2022 following her arrest by Iran’s morality police, triggering the nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom movement, one of the largest protest movements in the Islamic Republic’s history.
Human rights organisations estimate that at least 551 protesters, including 68 children, were killed during the crackdown. Research by the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University documented more than 18,000 arrests across approximately 160 cities, while a subsequent United Nations investigation concluded that Iranian authorities committed serious human rights violations, including unlawful killings, torture and gender-based violence.
Enforcement has since become increasingly technology-driven. According to the UN Fact-Finding Mission (2025), authorities now rely on facial recognition, drones, surveillance cameras and licence plate tracking, expanding enforcement beyond morality police into continuous digital monitoring.State-backed reporting platforms further extend enforcement by encouraging citizens and, under the 2024 law, certain foreign residents to report violations.
Despite considerable legal risk, growing numbers of women continue to appear in public without compulsory head coverings, underscoring the widening gap between state policy and social reality. The recent conflict has compounded these vulnerabilities, displacing an estimated 3.2 million Iranians mostly women and children while intensified internet restrictions, surveillance and arrests have further expanded state control.
The story of Iranian women cannot be understood solely through the lens of regional conflict or geopolitical rivalry. Behind debates over nuclear negotiations, military strategy and sanctions lies the everyday reality of women navigating legal discrimination, state surveillance and restrictions on personal autonomy. From compulsory hijab laws and morality policing to unequal family laws and limits on artistic expression, these policies have transformed women’s bodies and choices into instruments of state authority rather than matters of individual conscience.
While the Qur’an encourages modesty for both men and women (24:30–31; 33:59), many of these restrictions stem from political and legal interpretations adopted by the Islamic Republic rather than from unequivocal Qur’anic injunctions. As the international community continues to engage with Iran over questions of security, regional stability and nuclear policy, it must not lose sight of the parallel struggle unfolding within its borders. Looking beyond the geopolitical prism does not diminish Iran’s strategic importance; it completes the picture by recognising that a nation’s influence abroad cannot be separated from the freedoms its citizens enjoy at home.
By Dr. Soumya Awasthi,
Bio:
Dr Soumya Awasthi is a Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation and Visiting Faculty at Nalanda University, with over a decade of experience in national security, counter terrorism, counter radicalization and geopolitics. She has previously worked with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and Vivekananda International Foundation. A JNU doctoral scholar in Religion and Geopolitics, she has conducted field research in Afghanistan and Kashmir and represented India at the U.S. Department of State’s IVLP in 2023.
