Iran’s National Security Council has temporarily halted its new controversial “hijab and chastity law,” which was expected to come into effect on Friday.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian called the legislation “ambiguous and in need of reform,” suggesting his intention to reassess its provisions, the BBC reported.
The proposed new law was to introduce harsher punishments for women and girls for exposing their hair, forearms, or lower legs. Repeat offenders and anyone who was found mocking the rules would face heavier fines and up to 15 years in jail.
The legislation also announced the establishment of groups tasked with issuing verbal and written warnings to individuals who do not comply with the new law.
Human rights groups were concerned with the new law and its increased strictness. Amnesty International said Iranian authorities were “seeking to entrench the already suffocating system of repression.”
Pezeshkian had promised to interfere in the personal lives of Iranian women during his election campaign in July. He also openly criticized the treatment of Iranian women and girls over the hijab.
The debate over the hijab law gained more traction last week following Parastoo Ahmadi‘s arrest. She is an Iranian singer, who was arrested after streaming an online concert with no in-person audience on YouTube with her hair uncovered and wearing a bare-shouldered, long, black dress.
The arrest of Ahmadi and her bandmates sparked widespread backlash, leading authorities to release them the following day.