ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on Sunday accused Halabja’s female governor of “disregarding diplomatic principles” after she appeared at a Tehran tourist attraction without wearing a hijab, in an official visit with the Kurdistan Region’s governors that also met the Iranian president.
“The governor of Halabja, who had traveled to Tehran as a member of the delegation of governors of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, attended one of Tehran's tourist attractions without wearing a hijab last Thursday, disregarding diplomatic principles and disrespecting Iranian laws,” Fars news said on X.
A compulsory hijab was imposed in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution in public places and governmental institutions.
Halabja Governor Nuxsha Nasih joined a delegation of Kurdistan Region governors, including Erbil’s Omed Xoshnaw, Sulaimani’s Haval Abubakir, and Duhok’s Ali Tatar, in a visit to Iran last week to meet their counterparts from the Kurdistan, Kermanshah, and West Azerbaijan provinces in western Iran (Rojhelat).
On Thursday, they met with President Pezeshkian, discussing bilateral relations between Tehran and Erbil and cultural and trade ties, with the president reaffirming his support for mutual agreements between both sides.
The comments from Fars news come as the government faces challenges in enacting a new hijab bill and enforcing stricter obligations under its existing hijab laws.
They also come as the Iranian government struggles to enforce its existing compulsory hijab law, with a larger number of women defying authorities by appearing in public without the scarf.
Rudaw English reached out to Governor Nasih but she was not readily available for comment.
On Sunday, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf said that the country’s top national security body has advised against enacting the new hijab bill as tensions continue among hardline lawmakers over the controversial legislation.
Under the bill, women who violate mandatory hijab rules face escalating penalties, including fines, travel bans, and digital restrictions. Repeat offenses can result in prison sentences ranging from 3 months to 1 year and fines up to 1.65 billion rials (about $2,357).
The legislation notably came despite challenges the Iranian government faced enforcing existing hijab laws, especially after the nationwide protests which swept through the country in 2022 sparked by the death of a young Kurdish woman, Zhina (Mahsa) Amini, while in morality police custody for allegedly wearing a lax hijab.
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