According to a report by The Times Of Israel on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran, has firmly defended the hijab, which has exacerbated tensions with ultraconservative groups as more and more Iranian women go out without headscarves.
His remarks came after heated discussions intensified inside the nation on the Islamic Republic’s dress code enforcement, which has been met with increasing resistance in the past few months.
A day prior to Khamenei’s speech, the judiciary was openly accused by over half of Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament of not upholding the required hijab rule.
A more robust strategy for enforcing the dress codes was advocated by lawmakers, who said that the court system was insufficient in its efforts to address what they perceived as pervasive female noncompliance.
Last week, when hardline critics targeted Khamenei’s own office, tensions rose even higher. A photo of an Iranian woman killed in June’s 12-day war with Israel surfaced in a newspaper connected to his office, sparking the controversy.
She wore a baseball cap and her hair was prominently displayed in the photo; she was not wearing a hijab.
Official messaging on Islamic dress obligations was allegedly compromised and an unacceptable precedent was set by ultraconservatives who condemned the photo’s use.
Khamenei told a gathering of women that wearing the headscarf is completely consistent with advancing one’s career, echoing the leadership’s position.
In the Islamic Republic, it has been demonstrated that a Muslim woman, adhering to Islamic dress and donning the hijab, can outperform others in every domain and be an integral part of society and the home,” he stated.
Additionally, he added that this perspective, which was formed following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, had made it possible for Iranian women to accomplish a great deal.
Our women and girls have made great strides in many sectors thanks to this vision, which was set in motion in the Islamic Republic following the Islamic Revolution’s triumph, he said.
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