Banks in Iran's northern Golestan province have been urged by local officials not to provide services to women without the mandatory hijab.

Iran International has obtained a letter signed by the secretary of Golestan Province's Bank Coordination Commission addressing the managers of various banks to observe the regulation.

“No excuse is accepted by the operators in giving services (including transfer of money, deposit, and withdrawal by customers, etc.) after this correspondence, and in case of failure, they will be referred to the respected authorities,” read the letter.

Based on the instruction, inspection teams across the province will monitor the implementation of the ruling.

The new restrictions on banks also include dealing with "improper hijab of the employees", in addition to surveilling their family members.

"The activities of the children of employees in cyber space should be addressed and their parents must be given the necessary warnings,” added the letter.

Administrators of the banks should also make arrangements to separate women's workplace from men's and to prohibit the use of female secretaries.

Despite the nationwide uprising against the Islamic Republic after the killing of Mahsa Amini, the Islamic Republic has mounted pressure on women and girls to impose the mandatory hijab in recent months.

However, many Iranian women and girls challenge these efforts by appearing in public places without the compulsory dress code.

The Islamic Republic, founded in 1979, is the only Muslim country other than Taliban ruled Afghanistan with such a strict interpretation of hijab and nationwide coercive measures for its observance, while Islam is the official religion in 26 countries in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East.