Iran’s judiciary urged law enforcers to begin punishment of opponents of compulsory hijab while awaiting the approval of the contentious Chastity and Hijab bill.

Chief Justice Gholahossein Mohseni Ejei called on the police and the ministry of interior to take immediate measures amid yet more crackdowns while the law is awaiting final approvals from authorities who have cited "ambiguities" in the proposal.

Initially presented by the Judiciary, the Chastity and Hijab bill was later modified by a commission consisting of select members of the parliamentary judiciary and cultural committees, without being debated in the parliament's open session. The modified bill was eventually approved with the addition of more articles.

On September 20, parliament members endorsed the bill with a three-year experimental period and forwarded it for approval to the Guardian Council.

However, last week, the Guardian Council and the Expediency Council criticized the bill, which had been approved by a special parliamentary commission, citing “ambiguities,” and subsequently sent it back to the parliament for clarification.

Anti-hijab sentiment is still high, however. Shargh daily recently conducted a poll, revealing that a significant 84% of respondents expressed their opposition to compelling women to observe the hijab. Of the 12,334 participants in the poll, 84.21% believed that the implementation of the Chastity and Hijab law would not result in an increased hijab compliance among women.t

In September, the United Nations branded the law "gender apartheid".