Sanandaj- Iranian women actively oppose the hijab despite the threats while the Iranian government has been threatening women in their workplaces and public places in recent days. The regime has hung notices in shop windows telling women that mandatory hijab rules should be observed.

They are monitored everywhere

A shopkeeper in Sanandaj told NuJINHA that secret agents visit the shops to monitor if women wear hijab. “They visit the shop to check if we wear hijab. They mostly warn my customers and me because we do not wear hijab. Most of my customers are women and they do not wear hijab. I cannot tell them to wear hijab. If I tell them to wear a hijab, this would be disrespectful because I do not wear a hijab myself.”

The female shopkeeper also told us that she was threatened many times. “They have threatened me to close my shop. Despite their threats, I still oppose the hijab. Then, some officials came to my shop and hung a notice in the window reading, ‘Please observe the hijab law’. I see this notice every day and I feel discomfort because of it. Whenever I see it, I feel like someone is beating me in the head with a hammer. I cannot tear it but I cannot because we are monitored everywhere.”

 

‘Wearing colorful clothes is also banned’

B.Q. works as a salesperson for one of the shops. “A woman was warned by the secret agents because she wore colorful clothes. We are employees so we are under more pressure than shopkeepers are. The secret agents control not only our hijab but also our clothes and nails. We feel like we are robots controlled by them. We cannot wear colorful clothes. We are expected to wear only black clothes,” she said.

 

‘We received an order not to serve unveiled women’

B.Q. also told us that their customers are often warned and sometimes threatened by officials. “We received an order from our manager not to serve unveiled women. Women are banned from entering shops without wearing hijab. However, most shopkeepers do not care about this ban and allow unveiled women to enter their shops. We do not use our social media accounts because the authorities also check our social media accounts. We know that if we are seen without wearing hijab, we will be fired.”