Iran’s judiciary chief demands crackdown on hijab compliance, claims 'nudity' distresses patriots

* Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei demanded a crackdown on women who do not comply with mandatory hijab rules.
* Ejei alleged that "social abnormalities" and "nudity" in Iranian streets caused distress for religious people and patriotic citizens.
* Ejei requested measures to aim to "protect people’s rights" and "fight manifestations of corruption."
* Ejei stressed that stricter measures must avoid actions contrary to Islamic law.
* Ejei called for action to end the situation of abnormality and nudity with prudence and judgment.
* The demand occurred less than two weeks after the fourth anniversary of Mahsa Amini's killing.
* Mahsa Amini was killed by security forces after detention by morality police.
* The death sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022.
* A UN fact-finding mission documented 551 deaths, including 49 women and 68 children.
* Security expert Roger Macmillan noted the regime seeks to connect security with hijab compliance during periods of internal pressure.
* Authorities have targeted cafes, restaurants, and commercial establishments over alleged violations of hijab rules.

The narrative frames the enforcement of modesty standards not merely as a religious or social regulation but as an essential component of state security and control, particularly when contextualized by ongoing economic hardship and external pressures. The invocation of "patriotic citizens" affected by public visibility suggests an attempt to mobilize internal cohesion around a specific identity framework, potentially diverting focus from broader systemic issues like the repercussions of conflict and sanctions. The pattern where religious adherence is explicitly linked to state security—as suggested by the expert analysis that repression serves to maintain total control—indicates a strategy of using moral policing as a mechanism for reinforcing internal authority rather than purely regulating public behavior. This dynamic suggests that enforcing modesty rules, especially under duress, shifts from a matter of personal piety to a political act of resistance or submission. The link between economic pressure and increased regulatory enforcement reveals a systemic method of leveraging social compliance to manage populations already feeling vulnerability.
Bridge Questions: What is the relationship between state security apparatuses and the policing of private morality? How do official justifications for public order interact with the lived experiences of individuals who feel both patriotic and oppressed? What are the long-term consequences when moral regulation is explicitly positioned as an instrument of political control?