A well-known Iranian cleric says hijab rebels are loose and must be punished while observant women belong to their husbands.

Reza Akrami, a member of the Society of Combatant Clerics, not even the most hardline of Iran’s extremists, said women without hijab can belong to anyone and show themselves to all men.

Speaking to Rouydad24 news website in Tehran Monday, he repeated the supreme leader's argument that wearing the hijab is not a matter of personal choice, but a political and Sharia issue. He insisted that the Quran and religious teachings make hijab mandatory, though many clerics globally would disagree.

“A woman who does not follow the law regarding hijab must definitely be punished,” Akrami said, while at the same time proposing a persuasive path to convincing women about the merits of hijab. Akrami has held many government positions over the years, but is not part of the inner circle of hardliners who form the main base of support for Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei. 

Iran re-launched its hijab police street patrols on Sunday after months of inactivity following popular anti-regime protests, triggered by the death of a young woman in custody. In mid-September 2022 Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman was arrested in the street by the hijab or morality police and received fatal blows to the head.

She passed away in a hospital after three days, triggering the longest and most dangerous popular protests against the clerical regime.

Since then, many women appear on the streets without the mandatory large headscarf covering the upper body and hair. The regime considers this a serious challenge to its authority and hardliners are campaigning to use police patrols to force women to wear the hijab again.