Sick Iran hardliners vow to 'tear skin off women's heads' after green light from leader

Comments about Islamic dress codes made by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, earlier this week have been seized by hardliners in the Middle Eastern country as a green light to launch a crackdown on women who do not follow its hijab rules. Speaking at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1979 US Embassy takeover on Monday (November 10), Khamenei urged women to remind those around them to observe Islamic dress codes.

"Remind the women around you to view the hijab as a religious, Islamic, Zahra-like and Zeynab-like matter," Khamenei said, referring to early Islamic matriarchs. Following the speech, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei told prosecutors and citizens they "have a duty to carry out [the religious duty of] commanding good and forbidding evil," promising full judicial backing for such actions. Conservative voices quickly circulated Khamenei's comments on social media, taking them as permission to confront those women who have assumed a more relaxed view of hijab rules in recent times.

In Iran, mandatory hijab laws require women to cover their hair, and violations can result in penalties including traffic fines, confiscation of vehicles, and fines of around £12,000. Recent legislation, such as the "Law on Protecting the Family through the Promotion of the Culture of Chastity and Hijab," introduces harsher penalties, including longer prison sentences, travel bans, restrictions on education and employment, and possible death sentences for repeat offenders or certain violations.

Iran's Parliament passed the "Hijab and Chastity Law" in September 2024, imposing sweeping new restrictions. However, the Supreme National Security Council quietly suspended its enforcement amid fears of renewed unrest.

Taking to X, one ultra-hardliner wrote: "Does our dear Leader's order mean anything but jihad of explanation and to command good? May those who claim he has compromised on Sharia and hijab be struck dumb!"

According to Iran International, another wrote: "Once again the Leader of the Ummah himself intervened, reminding us of the duty to enjoin hijab and forbid indecency - both in positive and preventive ways."

However, not all took such a forceful stance. Writer Mohammad Nikbakht interpreted the remarks as signalling a softer, bottom-up approach, arguing that Khamenei meant that hijab enforcement should start within families, "not through morality police, legislation, fines, or arrests".

Over the past year, Khamenei has rarely addressed the hijab directly. In April 2023, he accused foreign intelligence services of encouraging Iranian women to disobey the mandatory hijab and declared such defiance "religiously and politically haram". The statement sparked a short-lived official campaign to restore control after the Women, Life, Freedom protests. Khamenei has not revisited the issue publicly until now.

Monday's comments, however, have sparked fears among officials that mass protests could reignite. President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that he cannot enforce the law and insists that only "dialogue" can persuade women.

Senior Revolutionary Guards general, Hassan-Nia, rebuked the president's comments this week, arguing: "Dialogue won't fix the problem. Firm action is required. If the Leader permits, we will tear the skin off their heads."

In Tehran, unveiled women now outnumber those covered in many neighbourhoods, according to reports. Many Iranian women have stopped wearing the hijab in public as an act of defiance, especially since the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini sparked widespread protests.