In brief. Reza Shah's government introduced uniform Western-style dress for men in 1928, a brimmed hat in 1935 and a ban on the veil in 1936. These laws were part of a nation-building programme and were enforced by the police, often by force.
Clothes were political in the 1930s. For Reza Shah’s government, a modern nation needed a modern look, and a uniform appearance was meant to unite people who had been identified by region, class and religion.
Men’s dress
A law in 1928 required men to wear Western-style clothing, with a standard cap, which was replaced in 1935 by a brimmed hat. Religious scholars were allowed to keep their traditional clothing only after passing a government test. The brimmed hat was a problem for devout Muslims, because it prevents a worshipper from touching the forehead to the ground in prayer.
In July 1935, security forces in Mashhad fired on a crowd that had gathered at the Goharshad mosque to protest against the hat law. Sources disagree on how many people died.
The 1936 ban on the veil
In January 1936, the government announced the end of the veil, known as kashf-e hijab, “removal of the veil”. Women were no longer to wear the chador, the all-covering cloak, in public. The announcement came with a ceremony led by the shah, at which the wives and daughters of officials appeared unveiled.
For some women, especially in educated urban families, the change opened public life: schools, universities (women were admitted to the University of Tehran from 1936), jobs and public spaces. Women’s activists had earlier called for greater freedom, and some welcomed the policy.
But the policy was a command, not a choice. Police could force women to remove their veils in the street. Many religious women, who felt that covering was part of their dignity, refused to leave their homes or were humiliated when they did.
Scholars such as Najmabadi emphasise that the unveiling was a state project about the image of the nation, and that it treated women’s bodies as a sign of progress. They note that both forced unveiling and later forced veiling take away women’s choices.
Reactions and reversal
The reforms created lasting resentment among many conservative and religious Iranians. After Reza Shah left in 1941, the enforcement stopped, and many women returned to the veil, while others kept the new styles. The question of who decides what a woman wears has remained political ever since.
Why it matters
The dress laws show both sides of the Pahlavi project: a real push for modern education and public life, and a willingness to use force to impose it. A fair account has to include both.
Notes and sources
- H. E. Chehabi, 'Staging the Emperor's New Clothes: Dress Codes and Nation-Building under Reza Shah', Iranian Studies 26 (1993).
- Afsaneh Najmabadi, Women with Mustaches and Men without Beards (University of California Press, 2005).
- Nikki R. Keddie, Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution (Yale University Press, 2003).
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