Women in Iran are increasingly testing the limits of the country’s strict Islamic code but a law requiring women to wear the hijab at work remains in effect, according to rights groups and a government spokesman. A false claim was staged in the Chinese social media campaign citing an Iranian government adviser who said in October 2025 “There is no mandatory law regarding the hijab”; Later he went back to those structures and said that the head covering should be worn.
“Iran ends mandatory rule of hijab for women.
The Chinese text is high with the accompanying video reading, “recently, Iranian media reported that a member of Iran’s expediency council Mohammad-Reza Bahonar said that the Hijab Law is no longer mandatory to punish women.”
The video – with clips of women in and out of hijab – begins with a woman removing her head and saying in Mandarin, “the first feeling after leaving Iran is that I’m free!” Captions above the clips claim that “More Iranian women are removing their hijabs and showing their faces in public”.
Screenshots of the fake post were captured on October 22, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, women have been required to wear the head covering, but mostly people – especially in big cities like the capital Tehran – have enforced restrictions by allowing the cover to go back (archived here and here).
In September 2023, the parliament agreed that the bill imposes heavy penalties on women who refuse to wear the hijab. It caused a heated debate in the country, was not sent to the government for approval and has since disappeared.
The claim Hijab Law was raised and appeared in the same Douyin, Tiktok, Facebook and Instagram posts.
Chinese users on Weibo praised the perceived emphasis, saying, “Blessings for Iranian women”.
Another comment read: “We often see Iranian female athletes wearing headscarves. From now on, they will finally stop wearing them.”
However, the law remains in effect, rights groups say.
Inconsistent reinforcement
Bahar Ghandehari, Director of Communications at the Center for Human Rights in Iran, said that the Iranian Penal Code still requires the wearing of the hijab (archived here and here).
“Hijab Requity is not legally terminated. The law of the land remains. It is only the levels of enforcement that have changed, but even this is inconsistent and varies from city to province in Iran,” he told AFP by email on October 11.
According to a report made by the Canadian radio CBC on May 20, 2025, some Iranian women began to walk without the hijab in public, but it is noted that the crashdowns could return at any time (link saved).
An October 15 report by the Center for Human Rights in Iran said that despite the circulation of videos showing women walking uncovered in the streets, they have switched to using those who violate the hijab law (link saved).
“From time to time, police enforcement is still carried out by the ‘So-More Police’, but now it is increasingly electronic monitoring, fines, and the closure of businesses that operate women who are not exposed,” the report said.
The false post seems to have been removed from the October 4 Report by the Iranian News Agency Khabar Online in Mohammad-Rezabar, “currently, there is no mandatory law regarding the Hijab” (Archive Course).
Bahonar later retracted this statement on October 11 in an interview with Iranian Broadcaster Iribe Oogh, saying that wearing the hijab must be compatible (therefore the evidence here and here).
His comments were rejected by the Council of Expediency Disclernerment MOHSEn Dehnavi on October 11, who said that Bahonar’s words ’emphasize that the official position comes from the ‘official chairman’ (released here and here).
At that time, the fake post also used a video of an Iranian Vlogger from Douyin Post on August 7, 2024, in which he films his hijab when he arrives in Oman – which does not require women to cover their hair at all times (which requires women to cover it at all times (archived link).
Screen comparison of the FALSE Weibo Post (L) and the original Douyin Video (R) taken on October 22, 2025
The AFP has previously drawn other negative consequences related to the hijab.
