Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has waded into a highly charged debate over the country’s mandatory hijab law, abruptly releasing a three-year-old report suggesting that nearly half of Iranians were opposed to the government dictating what women should wear.
Women across Iran have been removing their hijabs in public to protest Iran’s strict Islamic dress code in recent weeks. The movement gained momentum amid a wave of anti-government demonstrations late last year, sparked by concerns over rising living costs and a stagnant economy.
In 2014, decades after the law was enforced, the Iranian Student’s Polling Center took to the same streets to ask men and women whether wearing the Islamic veil was a personal issue and if the government should not interfere.