Half of Iran wants to drop headscarf laws: government report

The government of Iran published a three-year old study on Sunday night illustrating growing public distaste for the obligatory hijab just days after police confirmed that dozens of women had been arrested as protests against mandatory Islamic head covering gained momentum.

The study compares data from 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2014 — and illustrates the staggering decline in support for the legal restrictions on women's clothing, one of the major changes pushed during the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

According to the Center for Strategic Studies, which operates as part of the Iranian president's office, in 2006, 34 percent of Iranians believed that the government should not be allowed to dictate what women wear.

But by 2014 that number had jumped to 49 percent.

"And I'm sure if you ran the survey again today, that number would be even higher," one Iranian woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told DW.

Another interesting data point shows the drop in support for even more restrictive religious clothing. In 2006, 54 percent of those questioned thought that women should wear a chador, a garment that wraps around the entire body, revealing only the face.

By 2014, however, that number had dropped to 35 percent.

The survey also asked whether respondents thought the government should proceed with charges against women who were caught without a hijab in public. In 2006, about half of the population thought they should. But three years ago that number had fallen to just 39 percent.

Watch video 01:56 Leaked video shows Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei didn't want the job

While it may seem strange to some that the office of President Hassan Rouhani would publish these numbers as Iran's religious police step up their crackdown on anti-hijab protests, it is actually the second time recently that Rouhani has used such a tactic as a slick political gambit.

In December, Rouhani published the government's budget in full, claiming it was in the name of transparency. The president ran as a reformer, and hoped that anger at his lack of real legislative change would be tempered by revelations about how much funding the government is obligated to pay religious institutions and some of their employees.

The move backfired and Iran erupted into protests against the political establishment as a whole, the likes of which hadn't been seen since the aftermath of the country's contested 2009 presidential election.

Frustrated Iranians take to the streets in anti-government protests Disillusionment on the rise High unemployment, high inflation and a deepening divide between poor and wealthy Iranians: The economic crisis in Iran is a major cause of frustration for many people. The easing of international sanctions following the 2015 nuclear deal has not improved people's living conditions as expected.

Frustrated Iranians take to the streets in anti-government protests Public uprising The majority of protesters so far are poor Iranians. People from major cities across the country converged on the capital, Tehran, to vent their anger when demonstrations began on December 28. They have since expanded to cities and towns in almost every province.

Frustrated Iranians take to the streets in anti-government protests Political demands It is not clear who is spearheading the protests, or if anyone is leading them at all. The demands have, however, become more political: stop backing the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, no intervention in Syria and Iraq. The protesters are urging the government to focus on domestic problems. There have also been calls for Ayatollah Khamenei to step down.

Frustrated Iranians take to the streets in anti-government protests 'Enemies of Iran' Five days after the demonstrators first took to the streets, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, reacted to the protesters' demands, accusing "enemies of Iran" of using "different tools including cash, weapons, politics and [the] intelligence apparatus to create troubles for the Islamic Republic."

Frustrated Iranians take to the streets in anti-government protests Harsh response Authorities report that 450 people were arrested in connection with the protests. Twenty-one people are believed to have died in violent clashes, among them 16 demonstrators. They are the largest protests Iran has seen since the disputed 2009 presidential election. Author: Hao Gui

Anger grew over the stagnant economy and demonstrations cropped up across the country, resulting in at least 21 deaths as protestors clashed with police.

While Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the protests on foreign agitators, Rouhani instead insisted that the government listen to what the demonstrators had to say.

Tehran's chief prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri has similarly blamed the anti-hijab protests on influence from enemy agents.

In addition to the open demonstrations, women have been sharing pictures of themselves in public without their heads covered on the website My Stealthy Freedom.