Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian is under mounting pressure from his supporters to halt a new law that will toughen measures against women who defy orders to wear the hijab.
The push to enforce the law is an attempt by the hardline parliament to challenge the reform-orientated administration of Pezeshkian, and a test of the Islamic republic’s ability to maintain a tight grip on social and cultural policies.
But former and current officials, activists and experts have been calling for the law, which was passed by MPs and the powerful Guardian Council in September, to be scrapped. The legislation will be formally sent to Pezeshkian on December 13, who will have five days to sign it, the last formal step for its enactment.