Iran electronically scans women for headscarf violations, UN report warns

Electronic vigilantism was encouraged by authorities, the UN found (AP)

Iran increasingly relies on electronic surveillance and the public to inform on women refusing to wear the country’s mandatory headscarf, a United Nations report found.

The investigation comes as hard-liners in Iran push for harsher penalties on those protesting against the law in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022.

The findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran come after it determined last year that the country’s theocracy was responsible for the “physical violence” that led to the death of Ms Amini.

The @UN Fact-Finding Mission on #Iran said in a new report today that the Government continues to ramp up efforts to restrict the rights of women, girls and others demanding human rights, as part of a concerted effort to crush dissent.

➡ https://t.co/4gyLTLRiuw #HRC58 pic.twitter.com/dUX3v1pVDe

— UN Human Rights Council (@UN_HRC) March 14, 2025

Her death in Tehran led to nationwide protests against the country’s mandatory hijab laws and public disobedience against them that continues even today, despite the threat of arrest and imprisonment.

The report said: “Two and a half years after the protests began in September 2022, women and girls in Iran continue to face systematic discrimination, in law and in practice, that permeates all aspects of their lives, particularly with respect to the enforcement of the mandatory hijab.

“The state is increasingly reliant on state-sponsored vigilantism in an apparent effort to enlist businesses and private individuals in hijab compliance, portraying it as a civic responsibility.”

UN investigators outlined how Iran increasingly relies on electronic surveillance. Among the efforts include Iranian officials deploying “aerial drone surveillance” to monitor women in public places.

At Tehran’s Amirkabir University, authorities installed facial recognition software at its entrance gate to also find women not wearing the hijab, it said.

Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022 sparked outrage and protests around the world (Alamy/PA)

Surveillance cameras on Iran’s major roads also are believed to be involved in searching for uncovered women.

UN investigators said they obtained the “Nazer” mobile phone app offered by Iranian police, which allows the public to report on uncovered women in vehicles, including ambulances, buses, metro cars and taxis.

“Users may add the location, date, time and the licence plate number of the vehicle in which the alleged mandatory hijab infraction occurred, which then ‘flags’ the vehicle online, alerting the police,” the report said.

“It then triggers a text message (in real-time) to the registered owner of the vehicle, warning them that they had been found in violation of the mandatory hijab laws, and that their vehicles would be impounded for ignoring these warnings.”

Enforcement of hijab laws have been dialled up (AP)

Those text messages have led to dangerous situations. In July 2024, police officers shot and paralysed a woman who activists say had received such a message and was fleeing a checkpoint near the Caspian Sea.

Ms Amini’s death sparked months of protests and a security crackdown that killed more than 500 people and led to the detention of more than 22,000 others.

After the mass demonstrations, police dialled down enforcement of hijab laws, but ramped it up again in April 2024 under what authorities called the Noor – or “Light” – Plan.

At least 618 women have been arrested under the Noor Plan, the UN investigators said, citing a local human rights activist group in Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran executed at least 938 people last year, a threefold increase from 2021, the UN said.

While many were convicted of drug charges, the report said the executions “indicate a nexus with the overall repression of dissent in this period”.

As Iran continues its crackdown over the hijab, it also faces an economic crisis over US sanctions due to its rapidly advancing nuclear programme.

While US President Donald Trump has called for new negotiations, Iran has yet to respond to a letter he sent to its 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Social unrest, coupled with the economic woes, remain a concern for Iran’s theocracy.