Claim : Iran has lifted the legal requirement for women to wear the hijab.
Conclusion : The claim is false. Iran has not repealed hijab mandates and these claims revolve around a suspended enforcement bill. Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran still requires women to wear hijabs.
Rating : Misleading —
Several social media users have shared a claim that it is no longer mandatory for women to wear hijabs under Iran’s laws. Verified X user ‘trevor_hk’ shared such a claim with the caption : “Iran has lifted the legal requirement for women to wear the hijab! Now, it’s entirely up to the women of Iran whether they choose to wear it or not. No more legal obligations!”
The post also claims that the video attached is of the women burning the hijab and celebrating. View the post below –
Other users have also shared similar claim which can be viewed here and here
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found it misleading. Mohammad Reza Bahonar, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, had previously stated that the enforcement of the hijab was over, but he later retracted his statement. Furthermore, Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran still requires women to wear hijabs.
We first conducted a reverse image search of the video shared with the claim and discovered that it is from September 2022. As per the news reports, protests erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in custody after being arrested for an alleged breach of Iran’s dress code.
Moreover, a BBC video from September 2022, shows women burning hijabs.
Further, we conducted a web search with the phrase “Iran has abolished the enforcement of hijab”, to learn about the issue. According to a report by IranIntltv on October 3, 2025, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran remarked that the 2023 ‘Hijab and Chastity’ bill which proposed harsher penalties such as fines and business closures was ‘no longer legally enforceable’ after being suspended by the Supreme National Security Council in May 2025. The report suggests that this decision was likely taken to prevent any further unrest in the country. View a section of the report below –
On October 4, 2025, IranIntltv shared an Instagram reel featuring Mohammad Reza Bahonar, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. During a debate on the Entikhab media outlet, he remarked on the evolving paradigms in the Islamic Republic, stating, ‘The era of governing the country with a mandatory hijab law is over.’ View the post below –
Following this, a report by The Washington Post stated that Mohammad Reza Bahonar had changed his statements after a furious backlash. They shared a clip whose description states that Bahonar said, ‘I did not mean to revise values in any way; I said to revise methods,’ and added that some people ‘took advantage and claimed that I do not believe in hijab.’
Another report published by IranIntltv on October 12, 2025 also notes how Bahonar retracted his statements. They note that his “reversal comes amid a wave of government actions against businesses across Iran… and accused of failing to enforce hijab rules.” The report further discusses Bahonar’s statements which can be seen below –
Lastly, we searched for the Islamic Penal Code of Iran and learned that Article 638 is still in place. There have been no reports confirming any changes or amendments to it. A specific note under this article addresses women appearing in public without a headscarf (hijab), which can result in 10 days to two months of imprisonment or a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 Rials. View a copy of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran here.
Thus, the claim is misleading.
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