February 5, 2018
By Eliza Mackintosh
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (click here) has waded into a highly charged debate over the country's mandatory hijab law, abruptly releasing a three-year-old report suggesting that nearly half of Iranians were opposed to the government dictating what women should wear.
The release of the report on Sunday by the Iranian Center for Strategic Studies -- a research arm of the President's office -- came just days after 29 people were arrested by police in the capital Tehran for their involvement in protests against the headscarf law.
Women across Iran have been removing their hijabs in public to protest Iran's strict Islamic dress code in recent weeks. The movement gained momentum amid a wave of anti-government demonstrations late last year, sparked by concerns over rising living costs and a stagnant economy....
Arguing with an Iranian study about Iranian people should not be tolerated. The people want a quality of life and women want fashion. This opens an entirely new economic area for development. Women's fashion is a large part of many economies. Iran is holding on to a past that saw the change from imperialism. The people want more than a theocracy can provide, they want to be part of the larger world. Iran should drop using "fashion police" to ruin the enthusiasm of Iranian women for self-expression.
