To show that it remains keen on enforcing its mandatory Islamic dress code laws, the Islamic Republic of Iran is pushing for a new, stricter hijab bill that will impose harsher punishments against women who are not wearing the religious headscarf and those who encourage them not to wear the hijab.

The new proposal was slammed by activists and Iranians opposing the regime. Hardliners and pro-government supporters also criticized the new bill for being too lenient and saying it doesn’t go far enough.

Iran continues to strictly enforce its mandatory hijab laws, despite massive pushback from many Iranians. This time, the Islamic Republic released a new rule for drivers, ordering female passengers and drivers to wear hijabs while inside their vehicles or risk impoundment.

Fars News Agency, the state-owned news network connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), released a video explaining this new directive on April 17th as part of a broader campaign to further implement its mandatory dress code amidst increasing pressure and opposition from many Iranians.

Iranian authorities announced that two men accused of blasphemy were hanged amidst a rising number of executions since the protests that rocked the country following the death of Mahsa Amini under police custody in September 2022.

As Iran’s government continues to crack down on dissent against its mandatory hijab laws and enforce them more strictly, the policy created an unintended negative economic consequence: Massive unemployment among tens of thousands of Iranians.

The considerable loss of jobs comes as the Islamic Republic closed down at least 2,000 businesses in March alone after women refused to comply with its mandatory hijab rules, resulting in tens of thousands losing their jobs.

The Islamic Republic has recently unveiled new plans to further impose its strict mandatory hijab laws despite massive backlash from Iranian women after the death of Mahsa Amini last September 2022, promising to further crackdown on dissent against the rule.

Some of these proposed policies include setting up hijab enforcement groups in the stations of the Tehran metro, which would ban any woman not wearing a headscarf from entering and effectively ban them from going to work or school.